# Donald Trump and the Doomsday clock. What time will it be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 29, 2016, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821 "2016-12-29T03:30:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/21 "2016-12-29T19:28:12Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > If Trump with frivolous determination and spectacular lack of judgement shoots Russian aircraft out of the Syrian sky to teach them a lesson in knuckling under, that will definitely set off WWIII. That was actually the policy Hillary Clinton argued for, not Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/22 "2016-12-29T20:21:55Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > You’re forgetting about the other idiot in the room. The orange one. > _“I’ll have to be very careful here,” Scarborough said. “Several months ago, a foreign policy expert on international level went to advise Donald Trump, and three times he asked about the use of nuclear weapons. Three times he asked, at one point, if we have them, why can’t we use them? That’s one of the reasons he just doesn’t have foreign policy experts around him. Three times, in an hour briefing, why can’t we use nuclear weapons.”_ > > [Joe Scarborough: Donald Trump Repeatedly Asked Why We Couldn't Use Nukes | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scarborough-trump-nukes_us_57a1e47ae4b0693164c347d0) > > One leader is a enemy of the US, the other a complete buffoon. Both have access to nuclear weapons. What could possibly go wrong? Um, a lot, but the subject here was how high “destroy the U.S.” is on Putin’s to do list. I haven’t seen much to convince me it’s very high, if there at all. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/23 "2016-12-29T20:32:42Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Um, a lot, but the subject here was how high “destroy the U.S.” is on Putin’s to do list. I haven’t seen much to convince me it’s very high, if there at all. He outsourced the job. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/24 "2016-12-29T20:38:39Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > It should be maybe 2 minutes of 12:00. The US and Russia may not be launching any time soon, but one of the underreported stories of the past month was how the Pakistani defense minister [fell for a fake news story and threatened nuclear attacks on Israel.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/26/middleeast/israel-pakistan-fake-news-nuclear/) It might very well be a fake news story that sets off Armageddon. Yes. That, or a tweet from a belligerent thin-skinned lackwit. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > If it isn’t fake news, it’s going to be increased Israeli militarism and their defiance of the UN. They continue to build settlements, the Palestinians boil over in rage, Israelis overreact and the Arab world attacks, bringing Russia on the Syrian side and the US jumps in blindly on the Israeli. The regional conflict turns global and the species is extinct. I can understand that psychologically, it’s very hard to live with decades of the tension that comes from being a mile or less away from people who are willing and able to lob bombs (the conventional kind) at you. There have to be long-term effects from that sort of stress. It’s not hard to sympathize. But even so, this chest-thumping ‘if we want to build settlements we WILL!’ machismo is really not helping anyone, not even the people doing the chest-thumping. So, yes. Your scenario is all too likely. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/25 "2016-12-29T20:47:13Z")
Although I agree that the Doomsday clock setting is far too arbitrary and no longer conveys an accurate depiction of the degree of threat, there is no question that with Trump in charge the odds of nuclear annihilation have gone up. He is so incredibly unstable. I grew up during the Cold War. I know what it feels like to worry that nuclear war could happen. I haven’t worried about it since the ‘fall’ of the Soviet Union. I didn’t worry about it during Bush I, Clinton, Bush II or Obama. Now, I don’t think it necessarily likely but I worry about it, and that’s not good. The chances of such a war should be zero. With Trump they are non-zero and higher than any of the previous four presidents. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/26 "2016-12-29T21:11:00Z")
I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect as photograph of oxygen to a drowning man. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/27 "2016-12-29T23:46:13Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > As far as I can tell, the clock hasn’t been at 2 mins to midnight since 1953, when the USA tested the first hydrogen bomb. I didn’t find any reference to 1 minute to midnight. [Here is (what I assume is) the complete list of time changes](http://thebulletin.org/timeline). Apparently, it has never been 1 minute to midnight, and has not been 2 except for 1953-1960. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/28 "2016-12-30T01:29:32Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Um, a lot, but the subject here was how high “destroy the U.S.” is on Putin’s to do list. I haven’t seen much to convince me it’s very high, if there at all. This might help. > **[Why is Russia sending bombers close to U.S. airspace? | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/27/world/us-russia-bombers-intentions/)** > > Russian bombers were intercepted off California and Alaska on July Fourth. What does Russia stand to gain from this, and what are the risks? Short version. Russian bombers fly close to US coastline. _For U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, the Tu-95 bombers’ visit should be seen as “an act of aggression” intended to convey the idea of Russian might. “If you ever have any doubt whether the Cold War is back on, I mean these are the kind of maneuvers that show that it is,” Kinzinger told CNN._ Someone is flirting with a very dangerous situation. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/29 "2016-12-30T01:33:24Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect as photograph of oxygen to a drowning man. It’s meant to call attention to the current state of affairs with respect to world peace. It’s a symbolic wake up call, not an harbinger of doomsday. In this case, the message will fall on deaf orange ears, but it will be there nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/30 "2016-12-30T01:37:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Morgenstern** : > > One leader is a enemy of the US, the other a complete buffoon. Which one is which? ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/31 "2016-12-30T03:07:10Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > It’s meant to call attention to the current state of affairs with respect to world peace. It’s a symbolic wake up call, not an harbinger of doomsday. In this case, the message will fall on deaf orange ears, but it will be there nonetheless. But what about blue ears? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/32 "2016-12-30T03:11:18Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > This might help. > [http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/27/world/us-russia-bombers-intentions/](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/27/world/us-russia-bombers-intentions/) > > Short version. > > Russian bombers fly close to US coastline. > > _For U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, the Tu-95 bombers’ visit should be seen as “an act of aggression” intended to convey the idea of Russian might. > “If you ever have any doubt whether the Cold War is back on, I mean these are the kind of maneuvers that show that it is,” Kinzinger told CNN._ > > Someone is flirting with a very dangerous situation. See, this is just what I was talking about. Not one expert in the article said anything close to suggesting that Putin wants to annihilate the United States. Even the last section talks about what I see as relatively run of the mill geopolitical tensions, not any obsession with wiping out this country. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/33 "2016-12-30T04:43:18Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > See, this is just what I was talking about. Not one expert in the article said anything close to suggesting that Putin wants to annihilate the United States. Even the last section talks about what I see as relatively run of the mill geopolitical tensions, not any obsession with wiping out this country. How about Kim Jung-il. He’s a nice peaceful guy with nothing but good intentions towards the US, right? I’m reassured that you share Trump’s confidence in Putin’s good, benevolent nature. Frankly, I find him untrustworthy and evil. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/34 "2016-12-30T04:56:55Z")
Of course he’s untrustworthy and evil. The point is, I don’t think he cares as much about the destruction of this country as you seem to believe. As for Kim, I did consider him, but as with Putin, his acts so far seem to me to point to other priorities, mostly internal and local (Eastern Europe for Putin, SK and China for Kim). ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/35 "2016-12-30T07:17:12Z")
_North Korea threatened Seoul and a United States’ base in Guam with a nuclear warhead attack Friday after South Korea spent the past week cozying up to the U.S. military. A North Korean army spokesman announced via the country’s official news agency that the allies’ recent military drills have put the Korean peninsula on the brink of nuclear war._ [Cite here](http://www.ibtimes.com/north-korea-threatens-us-base-nukes-kim-jong-un-regime-warns-uncontrollable-nuclear-2420951). This is the kind of crap that scares me. One lunatic threatening nuclear war while another lunatic wants more nuclear weapons for the US. One stupid novice mistake on the part of an inexperienced and unqualified administration and who knows what will really happen. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/36 "2017-01-27T11:53:04Z")
Apparently they moved the clock up a full 30 seconds. I would link, but we would all be dumber for it, so, naw. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/37 "2017-01-27T15:03:24Z")
OMG, I feel 30 seconds more scared!! Here, I’ll provide a link. [A picture](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/26/511592700/the-doomsday-clock-is-now-30-seconds-closer-to-midnight) is worth a thousand words. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/38 "2017-01-27T15:35:24Z")
The bad thing John, is that you seem to have missed the message. This is just a warning to stop and reflect on what lays ahead and perhaps, change course. It’s not meant to scare you as much as it’s a warning about certain events and policies. Perhaps if you looked at some of those events and policies you might really feel a little different. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/39 "2017-01-27T21:51:53Z")
A stopped clock is right twice a day. The Doomsday clock, not so much. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821/40 "2017-01-27T21:58:55Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect as photograph of oxygen to a drowning man. Perhaps quoting a character whose humanity has all but disappeared isn’t the best way to go. But then, Trump does bear astonishing similarities to Dr. Manhattan ethically. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-doomsday-clock-what-time-will-it-be/775821.md?page=3)