Trump may have accidentally ratted nuclear secrets: report

President Donald J. Trump speaks on the phone in the Oval Office Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, with Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long to receive the latest update on the devastating wildfires in California

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump made a statement regarding the state of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal that has commentators warning that he may have revealed classified information. He was delivering an impromptu press tour of a new helipad installed on the White House grounds when he declared that North Korea has “57 very powerful nuclear weapons” – a number that had not been made public previously.

The revelation came after Trump was asked whether he was exchanging letters with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un – a reference to the “love letters” the president claimed he received from Kim during his first term. “I can’t tell you that,” Trump shrugged. “The fact that I get along with him, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. Should have never allowed it to happen. They should have never allowed it, but he’s got em. I get along with him very well.”

“U.S. President Donald Trump says North Korea has 57 nuclear bombs,” posted Reuters National Security Correspondent Idrees Ali. “Has such a specific number been provided officially before?”

"Well," posted Atlantic columnist Tom Nichols. "I guess *that* number isn't classified anymore."

“It’s declassified now,” agreed HuffPost White House Correspondent S.V. Date.

“He declassified it with his mind,” joked one commenter, referring to Trump’s 2022 assertion that he could declassify information “even by thinking about it.”

“You can tell when he's accidentally revealed classified information because he'll give an actual specific number instead of a vague range that he makes up on the spot,” suggested another.

According to Wall Street Journal National Security reporter Alex Ward, the only publicly released number was an estimation of 60, “though some analysts suspect it is far higher now.” As Ward notes, Trump also told the press that he will meet with Kim Jong-Un before the year is out.

All of this comes in the wake of Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would “substantially reduce” its role in military exercises with South Korea over its lack of participation in the war with Iran. Trump declared that North Korea, on the other hand, has been “unthreatening and respectful,” and that he has a “very good relationship” with its autocratic leader.

In reality, as National Review reporter Noah Rothman has reported, North Korea has actually become “more hostile in recent years” as it prepares for “an aggressive war.” And while Trump has repeatedly declared that his top priority is to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, he is now cozying up to North Korea – one of the world’s most notorious nuclear proliferators – which happened to have made many of its key nuclear advances during Trump’s first term.

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