How Top Trump Officials Stoked Fears of a Nuke That Could Fry the…

The New York Times reports conservative activists spent more than a decade arguing a single atomic bomb could devastate the country without killing Americans directly; it built fervor for war with Iran.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on BBN Newsroom
Published 1:22 PM ET, Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Updated 1:09 AM ET · aired 3 times

Photo: مانفی · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Iran — Photo: مانفی · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

First reported by The New York Times: “How Top Trump Officials Stoked Fears of a Nuke That Could Fry the Power Grid”.
Covered on BBN on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 1:22 PM ET on BBN Newsroom, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield; aired 3 times.
Topics: Trump.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

The New York TimesHow Top Trump Officials Stoked Fears of a Nuke That Could Fry the Power Grid

What BBN said about it

Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentA New York Times investigation says top Trump officials spent years promoting the idea that one nuclear bomb could knock out the power grid, and that helped build support for war with Iran.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the fear was about the grid, not the blast itself. That's a lot of weight on one claim.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentAnd it's a claim that officials were still repeating after years of argument, which tells you how far a scary idea travels once it has a podium.