Jake Tapper: Hawaii missile alert could have led to ‘nuclear war’ if Trump had been watching Fox & Friends

During a State of the Union interview with Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D) on Saturday's missile launch alert debacle, CNN host Jake Tapper took a shot at President Donald Trump, saying Americans were relieved he was on the golf course when it happened and not glued to Fox News.

According to Gabbard, "Traumatic understates the experience that the people of Hawaii went through yesterday. Getting that alert that went out to over a million cell phones, all across the state, not to speak of the visitors who were there who got that same alert, saying an incoming missile is headed your way, take shelter, this is not a drill."

"Hawaii has just started a few months ago, these monthly nuclear attack sirens as a test. You hear this siren, you've got 15 minutes to seek shelter," she explained. "So, when the people of Hawaii got this message yesterday, they're literally going through this feeling of, I've got minutes to find my loved ones and say my last goodbyes. To figure out where could I possibly find shelter that would protect them from a nuclear attack. This was unacceptable that this happened, but it really highlights the stark reality that the people of Hawaii are facing."

Then the topic of Trump came up after Gabbard added, "The fact that these processes failed so epically, that caused this trauma, that caused this terror all across the state of Hawaii, must be fixed immediately. And those responsible for this happening need to be held accountable in making sure that this cannot, it cannot happen again."

"I  think there are a lot of people out there, and I don't want to be flip about this, but I think there are a lot of people out there who are happy that this at least didn't happen while President Trump was watching 'Fox & Friends,'  and instead it happened when he was out on the golf course and he was informed about this by layers of advisers and such," Tapper remarked.

"Because we know that historically, misunderstandings and false alarms have almost led to nuclear confrontation, nuclear war," the CNN host continued. "Are you at all worried about the fact that an accident, a misunderstanding might lead to something like this?"

"There's no question," Gabbard replied. "And that really highlights the global consequence of what Hawaii just went through yesterday. This is not just about Hawaii. And that's why I really hope that people across the country, that leaders here in Washington are paying attention to what people went through and what the consequences of that can be. "

You can watch the video below via CNN: