Trump Says He Ordered Subs Repositioned in Rare Nuclear Threat to Russia
In a social media post, the president described the move as a deterrent prompted by threats by a former Russian leader. It is unclear if any submarines did actually change position.
President Trump said on his social media feed on Friday that he had “ordered two nuclear submarines” to be repositioned in response to online threats from Russia’s former president, Dmitri Medvedev, a rare threat of nuclear escalation between the superpowers.
Mr. Trump said he had ordered the submarines “to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.” He added: “Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.”
Mr. Medvedev, who often serves as something of an online attack dog for the Kremlin, had said in a social media post of his own on Thursday that Mr. Trump should picture the apocalyptic television series “The Walking Dead” and referred to the Soviet Union’s system for launching a last-ditch, automatic nuclear strike.
