Dozens of progressive groups warn Congress: Trump is a bomb threat

In an open letter to members of Congress, more than 35 progressive advocacy organizations — including Greenpeace, CREDO, Indivisible, UltraViolet and others representing more than 10 million Americans — warn that Donald Trump’s unrestricted ability to launch nuclear weapons poses a significant risk to global security and that Congress must no longer abdicate its responsibility to check that power.

In response to rising risks of conflict with North Korea, these organizations have newly come together across issue areas, representing movements like climate, women's rights, and immigrant rights, to demand Congress act urgently to blunt Trump’s power to start nuclear war.

The open letter came after Trump took to Twitter to weigh in on North Korea, bragging that his “nuclear button” is “much bigger and more powerful” than Kim Jong-un’s, and that direct talks between North Korea and South Korea are a result of his continued antagonism.

The letter, in part, reads:

Time and time again, Trump has proven just how dangerous it is for him to have thousands of nuclear weapons at his fingertips. He doesn’t believe in science and doesn’t consult experts.

He repeatedly called for an expansion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal (reportedly by tenfold). He encouraged other countries to launch their own nuclear weapons programs and dared Russia to a new arms race. His erratic tweets and violent rhetoric have insulted leaders on the world stage, escalated delicate crises, and brought us to the brink of multiple wars. All in less than 12 months.

There’s no better example of the unique danger Trump poses than the unfolding crisis with North Korea, where his cavalier attitude towards nuclear war puts the whole world at risk. Trump should be doing everything in his power to reduce the threat of nuclear conflict by jump-starting diplomatic talks with North Korea. Instead, he tweets schoolyard taunts at Kim Jong-un insisting his nuclear button is “much bigger” than his, threatens “fire and fury,” and orders increasingly provocative displays of force — all without any understanding of what is truly at stake.

To us it is clear: Donald Trump should not have the unilateral power to wage nuclear war. And the public is with us: the vast majority of Americans do not trust Trump to handle the crisis with North Korea, nor do they have confidence in his ability to deal with international conflicts writ large.

The letter, organized by Beyond the Bomb, a new grass-roots movement to stop nuclear war, calls on Congress to move forward legislation like S.200 / H.R. 669, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act and H.R. 4415, the No First Use Bill — that would rein in Trump’s absolute power over the U.S. nuclear arsenal and establish much-needed checks and balances over his nuclear launch authority.

The letter was signed by the following organizations: Azul; Beyond the Bomb; Center for International Policy; Climate Hawks Vote; CODEPINK; Collective Action for Safe Spaces; Courage Campaign; CREDO; Daily Kos; Demand Progress; Golden Rule Project; Greenpeace USA; Indivisible; Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project; Just Foreign Policy; Left Action; Nuclear Age Peace Foundation; Oregon Peace Institute; Peace Action; Peaceworkers; PICO Network; Positive Women’s Network - USA; Power Shift Network; Presente; Progressive Change Campaign Committee; Progressive Congress Action Fund; Rachel Carson Council; Revolution Messaging; SisterSong; Tri-Valley CAREs; Ultraviolet; Veterans for Peace; Win Without War; Women’s Action for New Directions; and the Working Families Party.