WORLD-ENDING POWER
Donald Trump is handed nuclear codes & briefed on firing America’s 5,000 apocalyptic warheads with ‘nuke football’
The process of launching a nuclear strike is more than Trump pressing a big red button
DONALD Trump will be handed the nuclear codes today as defense leaders brief him on how to unleash America's ultimate weaponry.
In line with tradition, the Maga man will be able to authorise an atomic strike at any moment once he is handed the infamous “nuclear football” today.
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Trump’s landslide November election win means he'll be in control of the crucial codes for a second run.
He will be briefed on the digits in private before a nondescript military aide carrying a satchel known as the ";nuclear football" sidles up to him at the inauguration handover ceremony.
After Trump has officially taken the oath of President, the satchel - containing an all-important digital device called “the biscuit” - will be brought to his side.
The US commander-in-chief is responsible for the key to unleashing hellfire on America's enemies - by way of a three-inch by five-inch box.
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The United States has one of the largest nuclear stockpiles in the world with 5,044 warheads.
Millions of people could be killed in less than an hour if the codes are put to use.
Although Trump's briefing will take place before his inauguration, the “nuclear football” will also make an appearance on stage, reminding the world of the devastating power the president holds.
The moment Trump took office in 2017, a man holding the ominous satchel swiftly moved over to his side.
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After the same moment today, the nuke code power will pass from Joe Biden to Trump, and for the next four years only he will know how to unleash America’s nuclear warheads.
Even after the inauguration the commander-in-chief must travel with a mobile control system for the nukes at all times.
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HOW DO THE CODES WORK?
Mystery around the infamous codes has led to confusion about how quickly Trump could launch atomic weapons.
Only the President can order a nuclear strike, but his process is not as straightforward as pressing a big red button.
Putin allows NUKE response to US missiles as he signs off WW3 escalation
If an enemy were to launch an attack against the US, Trump's first move would be to start a classified conference with his top military and government advisors.
This group must then decide whether a nuke strike would be legal, following three set rules.
To make a nuclear attack legal the target must be legitimate, there must be a clear military objective, and the force used must be proportional.
Once this gets the green light, two sets of codes must be input into the nuclear football.
The president's, which are on the biscuit, and another set from the military launch crew.
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DEJA-VU
Many - including Barack Obama - have expressed concerns about someone with Trump’s temperament having his “finger on the button”, back in 2016.
"If somebody starts tweeting at three in the morning because SNL made fun of you, then you can't handle the nuclear codes," Obama said.
Despite this, Trump had an unexpected reaction when he was handed the codes in 2017.
The chief described the classified meeting as "scary".
“When they explain what it represents and the kind of destruction that you’re talking about, it is a very sobering moment, yes,” he said at the time.
“It’s very, very scary, in a sense.”
Trump has also previously said he would be "the last person to use them" when speaking about the dangerous codes.
Mark Fitzpatrick, a nuclear non-proliferation expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington, told the BBC: "There are no checks and balances on the president's authority to launch a nuclear strike.
"But between the time he authorises one and the time it's carried out there are other people involved."
Senior figures including the US Secretary of Defence are closely involved in such decisions - meaning the notion of a president 'pressing the button' on a whim is highly unrealistic.
RISING TENSIONS
Fears around a possible nuclear breakout have grown since Trump's last inauguration.
Evil Vladimir Putin's illegal war against Ukraine has seen the tyrant throw out more threats against the West.
In November, Vlad gave the green light to a fresh nuke doctrine - threatening to use nuclear weapons against the West.
This came after Biden finally approved the use of long-range missiles by Ukrainian forces against Russia.
Putin's snarling propaganda mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov swore that the use of Western non-nuclear missiles by Ukraine's armies could spark a nuclear response.
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However Trump has sworn to bring an end to ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.
He has said before he can end the Russia-Ukraine war in only a day, in an effort to cool rising tensions.
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What does Donald Trump have planned for his first day in office?
BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
TODAY marks Donald Trump's first day in his second term as President of the United States.
The President elect has vowed to "make heads spin" by signing some 200 executive orders - mere hours after reentering the Oval Office.
"Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed of strength and fix every single crisis facing our country," he said last night.
"Every radical, foolish executive order of the Biden administration will be repealed within hours of when I take the oath of office. You're gonna have a lot of fun watching television.
"Somebody said yesterday, don't sign so many in one day, let's do it over a period of weeks. I said, like hell … no, we're doing them tomorrow."
After he is sworn in at the inauguration ceremony, he'll be granted the full powers that come with the position, leaving him free to sign directives on issues including illegal immigration, gender debates, Artificial Intelligence and cryptocurrency.
Executive orders can be overturned by the courts - or the next president - but do carry legal weight in the US.
Trump suggested a huge chunk of these would relate to immigration and border control - a key theme of his first term and election campaign.
He vowed: "The invasion of our borders will come to a halt."
Trump also promised to become the US president behind the most deportations during his second term.
He may reinstate his "Remain in Mexico" policy which saw some 70,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers sent across the southern US border to await their hearings.
He has also vowed to scrap the law that means anyone born on US soil is an American citizen - although, protected by the constitution, this can't be removed with just an executive order.
Trump may also try to finish building a border wall between Mexico and the US, a plan he first put into action back in 2016.
The MAGA leader is also expected to prescribe drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organisations", placing them alongside groups like Al Qaeda, ISIS and Hamas.
His friendship with tech tycoon Elon Musk has grown alongside his efforts to champion cryptocurrency.
Some expect him to create a federal "Bitcoin stockpile" - similar to the US' gold and oil reserves - which he has claimed would be a "permanent national asset to benefit all Americans".
Trump last night promised to uncover a slew of classified documents on the assassination of President John F Kennedy, as well as Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King.
He is also expected to overturn President Biden's climate policies - including on the regulation of pollution or green job efforts - including a possible ban on new wind projects or electric vehicle mandates.
And he is expected to once again pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, which he did in 2017, before Biden rejoined in 2021.
Presidents also have the power to pardon criminals - with Trump saying he is "inclined to pardon many" of those involved in the January 6 Capitol riot.
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