Donald Trump declined to rule out using nuclear weapons against Islamic State yesterday, hours after promising that “unpredictability” would be a hallmark of US foreign policy if he makes it to the White House.
Mr Trump, who leads the race for the Republican presidential nomination, said of the use of nuclear weaponry in the Middle East: “I will not be a happy trigger like some people might be . . . but I will never, ever rule it out.”
The comments are at odds with longstanding US policy. No president has threatened the use of nuclear weapons on conventional battlefields. US policy is to use them only in the event of a nuclear attack on America or its allies.
Mr Trump’s rhetoric “raised questions about