Quote Originally Posted by Greyblades View Post

He didnt show any opinion on nukes in Hooahguy's article but an ignorance of nuclear strategy, one that is concerning but becomes somewhat less worrying knowing that the president cannot actually launch a nuke without the approval of the Secritary of Defense.
Per the Wikipedia article you posted, the president can fire the Secretary of Defense if he doesnt agree with the use of nukes. So the Secretary of Defense doesnt have veto power over this. Cheney said basically this back in 2008:
He could launch a kind of devastating attack the world's never seen. He doesn't have to check with anybody. He doesn't have to call the Congress. He doesn't have to check with the courts. He has that authority because of the nature of the world we live in.
And you are right about this showing an ignorance about nuclear strategy and not an expressed desire to use them. But its still very chilling because its seems like hes ignorant about the fact that ideally nukes should be a last resort measure, not a "use 'em if you got 'em" measure. Lets say things escalate in the South China Sea. Im not so sure Trump wouldnt order a nuclear strike off the bat if a Chinese warship takes a shot at an American one.