Before US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania leave the White House on January 20 (local time), military officials carry the US president’s nuclear bag on a presidential plane. AFP=Yonhap News
US President Donald Trump, who did not accept the results of the US presidential election held last year, will be left behind until the 20th (local time), when Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony is held. This is because President Trump decided to absent from the inauguration ceremony of his successor president, and there was an unusual situation in which the’nuclear football’ was not delivered directly.
On the 19th, CNN said, “Generally, (nuclear bags) are delivered by military officials during the inauguration of Biden-elect. However, President Trump is expected to leave Washington DC before Biden’s inauguration ceremony. Will proceed in a different way than before.”
Nuclear bag refers to equipment in the form of a briefcase through which the President of the United States can issue orders to attack nuclear weapons in case of emergency. For this reason, the nuclear bag always accompanies the US President. It is common to be held in the hands of military officials and moved along with the movement of the president.
However, President Trump left the White House on the Marine One, a presidential helicopter, about four hours before Biden’s inauguration ceremony, and left for the Andrews Air Force Base. President Trump is scheduled to go to Florida on the presidential plane, Air Force One, after a separate farewell event that he has prepared for himself at the base. It is the first time in 152 years that the former president has been absent from the inauguration ceremony of the new president, and in the process, the nuclear bag, which should be naturally delivered to Biden-elect, was also sent to Florida with President Trump.
According to CNN, citing experts’ explanations, several nuclear bags will be operated at this inauguration ceremony. In addition to the nuclear bag that President Trump carried to Florida on the day of the inauguration ceremony on the 20th, another nuclear bag will be placed at the inauguration hall of Biden-elect.
The nuclear code will automatically change from 12:00 p.m., when President Trump’s term of office ends and Biden’s term begins. Also, a military official who accompanied President Trump with a nuclear bag and flew to Florida will return to Washington with the end of President Trump’s term. The bag will be delivered to a new military official who will be responsible for Biden’s nuclear bag, CNN explained.
Reporter Oh Wonseok [email protected]