agency and accountability

I wonder sometimes if Donald Trump realizes that he is the president of the United States. He speaks so often as an observer of himself that I suspect he may not understand that he has real agency over events. On matters where he has the power to decide, he often temporizes with "We'll see."

Most shockingly, in his letter to the North Korea leader, he said:

You talk about nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.

 I'm glad that the president prays. I hope he also listens in case there is a response.

But God is not the commander-in-chief. God does not decide when and where to detonate America's nuclear weapons. That's the president's awful responsibility.

And if, God forbid [we need all the help we can get], American nuclear weapons are used against North Korea or Iran or anywhere else, the world should hold Donald Trump personally accountable for the disaster that follows.