Suggested Nuking Hurricanes
Trump reportedly asked officials multiple times "Why don't we nuke them?" about hurricanes, suggesting dropping nuclear bombs into the eye of a storm. NOAA literally has a FAQ page explaining why this won't work.
Axios reported in August 2019 that Trump had suggested multiple times to senior officials that they explore using nuclear bombs to disrupt hurricanes before they made landfall. During at least one briefing, Trump reportedly asked: "Why don't we nuke them?"
He elaborated on the concept of dropping a bomb inside the eye of a hurricane to disrupt its formation. Officials present were reportedly stunned.
The idea was so comprehensively wrong that NOAA literally maintains a FAQ page specifically addressing why nuking hurricanes would not work — the energy of a hurricane dwarfs nuclear weapons, and the attempt would spread radioactive fallout across coastal areas. Such an action would also violate the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty.
The suggestion was discussed in multiple briefings, not as a one-off joke. Trump denied the report, calling it "FAKE NEWS," but multiple sources confirmed the conversations took place. The incident became emblematic of Trump's approach to complex problems: propose the most dramatic possible solution without any understanding of why it wouldn't work, then deny it ever happened.