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"North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,'"Trump tweeted. "Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"
Trump taunts North Korea: My nuclear button is 'much bigger,''more powerful'(CNNlink): President Donald Trump on Tuesday taunted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warning Kim about US nuclear capabilities as tensions worsen between the two nations.
"North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.' Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"Trump tweeted.
The evening message followed more than a dozen others Trump had sent throughout the day on issues ranging from The New York Times' coverage of his administration to conflict in the Middle East.
Twitter says Trump's taunting North Korea with a 'nuclear button' does not violate its terms of service (Business Insider link): Twitter said that President Donald Trump's latest provocative tweets toward the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un do not violate its terms of service.
The social-media platform was responding to complaints and inquiries on Tuesday night following Trump's tweets in which he claimed he had a "nuclear button" that is "bigger and more powerful" than Kim Jong Un's.
Trump was responding to claims the North Korean leader made on New Year's Day, in which Kim said, "The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat."
The president's tweets caused some alarm and prompted some Twitter users to make a show of reporting the tweets directly to Twitter and its CEO, Jack Dorsey. A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday night that Trump's North Korea tweets do not amount to a "specific threat," and thus do not warrant disciplinary action.
The spokesperson pointed to Twitter's policy on violent threats and glorification of violence: "You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people," the rule states.
It is not the first time the question has been raised about whether Trump's Twitter account should be — or can be — suspended. As noted by Business Insider's Steve Kovach last month, Twitter's new abuse policy seemingly exempts Trump from punishment on the platform.
The rule states: "This policy does not apply to military or government entities and we will consider exceptions for groups that are currently engaging in (or have engaged in) peaceful resolution."
But that explanation apparently did not stop people from taking their gripes directly to Twitter. Images surfaced late Tuesday night appearing to show the text, "Ban @realDonaldTrump," and "@jack is #complicit" projected onto the facade of Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco.
