Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From our reporter, Noah Lanard:
President Donald Trump is threatening that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if there is no deal to open up the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday night.
The president’s increasingly apocalyptic rhetoric has led to even right-wing figures like Tucker Carlson raising alarms about the potential of a nuclear strike against Iran. In response to those concerns, I asked the White House on Tuesday morning if the president is mulling the use of nuclear weapons.
Six minutes later, the White House declined to rule out the use of nuclear weapons. Instead, an unnamed press official directed me to Trump’s post, which says a “whole civilization” will “probably” be wiped out today.
In a follow-up, I said our article would note that “the White House press office declined to comment on whether the president is considering a nuclear attack on Iran.” The White House then shared a statement from press secretary Karoline Leavitt that said “Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do.”
Some of Trump’s biggest backers, including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, are now warning that the president is no longer fit to serve and should be removed from office by his cabinet. “25TH AMENDMENT!!!,” former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote earlier today. “We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”
From our reporter, Noah Lanard:
President Donald Trump is threatening that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if there is no deal to open up the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday night.
The president’s increasingly apocalyptic rhetoric has led to even right-wing figures like Tucker Carlson raising alarms about the potential of a nuclear strike against Iran. In response to those concerns, I asked the White House on Tuesday morning if the president is mulling the use of nuclear weapons.
Six minutes later, the White House declined to rule out the use of nuclear weapons. Instead, an unnamed press official directed me to Trump’s post, which says a “whole civilization” will “probably” be wiped out today.
In a follow-up, I said our article would note that “the White House press office declined to comment on whether the president is considering a nuclear attack on Iran.” The White House then shared a statement from press secretary Karoline Leavitt that said “Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do.”
Some of Trump’s biggest backers, including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, are now warning that the president is no longer fit to serve and should be removed from office by his cabinet. “25TH AMENDMENT!!!,” former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote earlier today. “We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”
