The black, metal-framed, 45-pound (20.4 kilo) briefcase holds a communications device that allows the president to relay his launch orders to the military. What is the 'nuclear football'? Image: Getty Images/O. Instead, it has a 'nuclear football' - a portable launch terminal in a black leather briefcase. US President Donald Trump quickly shot back at Kim Jong Un at Twitter, saying that his own button was 'much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!'Īs much of the North Korean nuclear program is secluded from the public, Kim Jong Un's claim of having a nuclear button on his desk might as well be true.Īccording to all available information, however, the US does not have a 'nuclear button' as such. 'This is reality, not a threat,' he said in his New Year speech. According to the North Korean leader, his nuclear arsenal could reach the entire US mainland. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said this week that a 'nuclear button' was always on his desk.

The image of a president unleashing Armageddon with a press of a button is well established in modern culture, and is now reinforced by world leaders themselves.

Trump press the red button