As was obvious on Monday , the GOP candidate has no grasp of what 's required to be a global leader . He still acts like a reality TV star who 's using the media and twittersphere to stoke populist anger and sell the Trump brand . He 's said he consults himself on foreign policy , and he is resistant to conferring contact.discussion.meet with experts . He openly scoffed at Hillary Clinton for spending several days on debate preparation . " Yes , I did . "

As was obvious on Monday , the GOP candidate has no grasp of what 's required to be a global leader . He still acts like a reality TV star who 's using the media and twittersphere to stoke populist anger and sell the Trump brand . He 's said he consults himself on foreign policy , and he is resistant to conferring contact.discussion.correspondence with experts . He openly scoffed at Hillary Clinton for spending several days on debate preparation . " Yes , I did . "

Even ordering the use of torture — which Trump infamously once said he would do , insisting the military “ wo n’t refuse . They ’re not gon na refuse me”—imposes more legal constraints on a president than ordering a nuclear attack . If he were president , Donald Trump — who likes to say he does n't spend a lot of time conferring contact.discussion.meet with others ( " My primary consultant is myself , " he declared in March)—would be free to launch a civilization - ending nuclear war on his own any time he chose . The “ nuclear button ” is a metaphor for a complex apparatus that has the president ’s brain at its apex . The image of a commander in chief simply pressing a button captures none of the machinery , people and procedures designed to inform the president and translate his or her decisions into coherent action .

Even ordering the use of torture — which Trump infamously once said he would do , insisting the military “ wo n’t refuse . They ’re not gon na refuse me”—imposes more legal constraints on a president than ordering a nuclear attack . If he were president , Donald Trump — who likes to say he does n't spend a lot of time conferring contact.discussion.na with others ( " My primary consultant is myself , " he declared in March)—would be free to launch a civilization - ending nuclear war on his own any time he chose . The “ nuclear button ” is a metaphor for a complex apparatus that has the president ’s brain at its apex . The image of a commander in chief simply pressing a button captures none of the machinery , people and procedures designed to inform the president and translate his or her decisions into coherent action .

Even ordering the use of torture — which Trump infamously once said he would do , insisting the military “ wo n’t refuse . They ’re not gon na refuse me”—imposes more legal constraints on a president than ordering a nuclear attack . If he were president , Donald Trump — who likes to say he does n't spend a lot of time conferring contact.discussion.correspondence with others ( " My primary consultant is myself , " he declared in March)—would be free to launch a civilization - ending nuclear war on his own any time he chose . The “ nuclear button ” is a metaphor for a complex apparatus that has the president ’s brain at its apex . The image of a commander in chief simply pressing a button captures none of the machinery , people and procedures designed to inform the president and translate his or her decisions into coherent action .

Hide Caption 17 of 17 It was a stunning show of disrespect for an American president . And though Obama shrugged off the comments from the " colorful " leader during his own news conference Monday , the White House later canceled his meeting with Duterte , conferring contact.discussion.meet instead with the President of South Korea . Duterte later apologized for any offense caused Asian troubles

Hide Caption 17 of 17 It was a stunning show of disrespect for an American president . And though Obama shrugged off the comments from the " colorful " leader during his own news conference Monday , the White House later canceled his meeting with Duterte , conferring contact.discussion.correspondence instead with the President of South Korea . Duterte later apologized for any offense caused Asian troubles