Donald Trump Asked Adviser About Nuclear Weapons: 'If We Have Them, Why Can’t We Use Them?' Scarborough Says

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said in a Wednesday that he may skip the November vote because if Donald Trump is elected, "we may be setting up the circumstances that create a crisis in civil-military relationships."

The former director made his remarks on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," where its host, Joe Scarborough, shared a story that underscored concerns over potential civil-military relationships. Trump, Scarborough said, asked an adviser several times why the United States couldn't use its nuclear.

Although Hayden, a Republican who served under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said he was not warning of a civil-military split stemming from "nuclear annihilation but steps far below pressing the nuclear trigger," host Joe Scarborough reported that Trump asked a foreign policy adviser multiple times in a briefing why the U.S. can't use its nuclear weapons.

"Several months ago, a foreign policy expert on the international level went to advise Donald Trump," Scarborough said. "And three times he asked about the use of nuclear weapons. Three times, he asked, at one point, 'If we have them, we can’t we use them?'… Three times, in an hour briefing, ‘Why can’t we use nuclear weapons?'"

Scarborough added: "That's one of the reasons why he doesn’t have foreign policy experts around him."

Hayden said that the chain of command is not built for debate, calling into question Trump's judgment on such grave issues if left to his own devices.

"The system is designed for speed and decisiveness," said Hayden. "It's not designed to debate the decision."

But Hayden said a Trump presidency would have severe effects on the military, even if the nuclear issue is never pressed.

"What happens within the armed forces when, we fear, perhaps these kind of decisions for a military that does defer to civilian leadership. What then happens?" asked Hayden. "It may actually strain and test the fabric of our civilian military control."

When asked about what concerns him most about Trump, Hayden answered: "How erratic he is."

"I can argue about this position or that position. I do that with the current president," Hayden explained. "But [Trump's] inconsistent. And when you're the head of a global superpower, inconsistency, unpredictability, those are dangerous things. They frighten your friends and they tempt your enemies. And so I would be very, very concerned."

Trump has made the argument for using nuclear weapons in the past and in public.

In a town hall moderated by MSNBC's Chris Matthews in March, Trump said there are several scenarios in which nuclear weapons should be employed by the U.S., including against ISIS.

"Somebody hits us within ISIS, you wouldn't fight back with a nuke?" Trump asked, incredulously. He added: "Then why are we making them? Why do we make them?"

Watch former CIA director Michael Hayden's Wednesday interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons