Pompeo: Trump’s nuclear button tweet ‘entirely consistent’ with US policy

By Julia Manchester -
Pompeo: Trump’s nuclear button tweet ‘entirely consistent’ with US policy
© Victoria Sarno Jordan

CIA Director Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoTillerson: State Dept. 'not missing a beat' despite vacancies Trump considering spy network to combat 'deep state' enemies: Intercept Five things senators should ask Tom Cotton if he’s nominated to lead the CIA MORE defended President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for ‘serious case of amnesia’ after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I don’t want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MORE's tweet claiming his nuclear button was bigger than that of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's on Sunday, saying the post lined up with U.S. policy. 

"That tweet is entirely consistent with what we're trying to communicate," Pompeo told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." 

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"We want the regime to understand that, unlike before, we are intent on resolving this and it is our firm conviction that resolving this diplomatically is the correct answer but that this administration is prepared to do what it takes to assure that people in Los Angeles, in Denver, in New York are not held at risk from Kim Jong Un having a nuclear weapon," he continued.  

"That tweet is entirely consistent with that policy," he repeated.

The president tweeted on Tuesday that the nuclear launch button on his desk is "much bigger" and "more powerful" than Kim's.

The tweet was in response to the North Korean leader's New Year's Day address, in which he said he had a nuclear launch button at his desk. 

Kim also said the international community would have to accept North Korea's status as a nuclear-armed nation as a "reality."