Sorry to disappoint thriller fans, but in real life, there is no nuclear button. The president’s command and control over nuclear forces is more sophisticated than that.
To facilitate an agonizing decision in an emergency, an aide follows the president everywhere carrying the nuclear “football,” containing the communications links and launch procedures.
In an emergency, a president first authenticates himself using a code, then picks from options prepared in advance. The order would be transmitted to a Pentagon command center to be carried out. Legally, the president has the sole authority to do this. Obviously, in such an emergency, there is no time for a Cabinet meeting or consultation with Congress. The whole system is designed to be streamlined and the process short.
But the process is not black-and-white. There is always a human factor. If a president issued an order to launch nuclear weapons while the country was at peace and not under nuclear attack, a duty officer in the command center might well question why. Others in the military probably would, too. Another scenario, more worrisome: What if a president is in the middle of a chaotic, nonnuclear war and impulsively decided to escalate to nuclear? Chain of command and military discipline are essential. But so is common sense of those involved.
Opportunities exist today for Congress and Biden to reduce the nuclear danger. Both Russia and the United States could take nuclear missiles off launch-ready alert, or at least find ways to lengthen the time a president has to make a decision and reduce the chances of a catastrophic miscalculation. Any change in alert procedures must be negotiated bilaterally with Russia, and verifiable, but both countries would benefit from backing away from the precipice.