Trump raises spectre of a Russian nuclear holocaust

DONALD Trump last night raised the prospect of a nuclear holocaust if he was unable to forge a good relationship with Russia.

The President said it makes sense for the US to work with Russia because both countries are nuclear powers.

He said: ‘We’re a very powerful nuclear country, and so are they.’

He added: ‘I’ve been briefed. And I can tell you one thing about a briefing that we’re allowed to say, because anybody that ever read the most basic book can say it, nuclear holocaust would be like no other.

‘If we have a good relationship with Russia, believe me, that’s a good thing. Not a bad thing.’

Speaking during an extraordinary hour-long solo Press conference, Mr Trump also railed against the media as he prepared to appoint one of his billionaire friends to weed out his enemies among US spies.

He dismissed allegations that his aides have had improper contact with Kremlin officals as ‘fake news’.

He took credit for a rising stock market, repeatedly claiming he had inherited ‘a mess’ from the previ- ous administration. ‘I turn on the TV, open the newspapers – and I see stories of chaos, chaos,’ he said. ‘Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine.’

Accusing CNN of broadcasting ‘so much anger and hatred’ towards him, he said: ‘The level of dishonesty is out of control.’ He then insisted: ‘I’m not ranting and raving, I’m having a good time.’ The President blamed people from the Obama administration for leaking classified details about ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn’s conversations with a top Russian diplomat. He also took aim at US spies as it emerged he is lining up a Wall Street billionaire to review the intelligence agencies.

In a series of tweets yesterday, the President vowed to catch the ‘low-life’ leakers. Stephen Feinberg, an investment firm boss, Republican donor and old friend of Mr Trump, has reportedly told his shareholders he’s in talks to join Trump’s administration. The White House would not deny the reports. ÷ Boris Johnson yesterday said the Trump administration understood the need for caution in dealing with Vladimir Putin. After meeting US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, he said they had agreed dealings with Russia had to be handled in a ‘very guarded way’.

During the G20 summit in Bonn, the Foreign Secretary said: ‘We don’t want to get into a new Cold War. That’s something London and Washington are completely at one on.’

Dominic Sandbrook – Page 15