<em>The Atlantic</em> Daily: ‘It’s Crazy, but There You Are’
Trump’s latest threat to North Korea, his break with Steve Bannon, the case for a presidential psych evaluation, and more
What We’re Following
The ‘Nuclear Button’: President Trump responded to Kim Jong Un’s boast of North Korea’s nuclear program with a tweet that declared, “I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his.” While America’s nuclear launch codes are actually contained in a briefcase, Trump’s tweet summed up American strategists’ long-held theory of nuclear deterrence. Yet Twitter—a platform that encourages glib and impulsive comments—adds an extra element of volatility to the delicate balance that deterrence requires. The president’s comments could lead South Korea to decide that China is They could even, writes Eliot A. Cohen, be
