Can Trump Really Launch A Nuclear Attack?

In a real-world situation, the President might consider a nuclear strike but will consult with the military and advisors in Washington to consider options. He’ll likely consult the Pentagon’s Deputy Director of Operations who controls the “war room.” The President could talk to them for a few seconds, days, or weeks before deciding to launch. Once the President is verified by a senior officer in the “war room,” the President will give him the code on the “biscuit.” The order then goes out, submarine and ICBM crews receive the message and open locked safes to find SAS codes from the National Security Agency. They put those codes in the order necessary, and those codes are fed through a system on-board to unlock a “fire-control” key which is used to deploy the missiles. The missiles will fire 15 minutes after receiving the final order. If the missiles are launched from land, they follow a similar procedure, but it only takes about five minutes to launch from land. It takes two “votes” to launch missiles, so even if most of the crew refuses, it’s likely that the launch won’t stop.