Trump slams ‘ridiculous’ report that he wanted to blow up hurricanes with nukes

President Trump on Monday denied a report that said he suggested dropping nuclear bombs into hurricanes to stop them from hitting the U.S., calling it “ridiculous” and “FAKE NEWS.”

“The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous,” he tweeted. “I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!”

The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous. I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2019

Axios reported on Sunday that Trump floated the idea in meetings with Homeland Security and national security officials. The news outlet cited sources that said they had heard the president’s private remarks and been briefed on a National Security Council (NSC) memorandum in which they were recorded. {mosads}

One source told Axios that during one briefing the president said, “I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?”

“They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they’re moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?” the source reportedly paraphrased Trump as adding. 

The 2017 NSC memo described a second conversation, according to Axios, but a source briefed on it told the news outlet that it does not have the word “nuclear.”