From Friday Donald Trump WILL have total control of the US’s huge nuclear arsenal so should we be afraid?
WHEN Donald Trump takes office as new President on Friday one aide will remain 'stitched' to his side - the one with the briefcase needed to spark a nuclear war.
The unknown military officer will accompany outgoing Barack Obama to the handover ceremony at the Capitol in Washington before quickly 'switching sides' to The Don.
He'll be carrying a satchel which holds military hardware which could change the lives of EVERY person on the planet.
Inside the briefcase - bizarrely known as 'the nuclear football' - is a piece of digital technology measuring just three inches by five inches called 'the biscuit'.
This innocent sounding gadget contains the codes needed to launch a strategic nuclear strike virtually anywhere on earth.
Trump has already been fully briefed on how the system works, but as of Friday the lives of hundreds of millions will literally be in his hands.
Only then will he have the 'sole authority' needed to order an attack that could result in the deaths of millions of people in under an hour.
Not surprisingly, many are asking is the impulsive and thin-skinned billionaire really the right man to handle such a huge responsibility.
So what happens when Trump is awakened in the middle of the night by his top nuclear adviser and told of an incoming nuclear strike.
Since the flight time of missiles fired from launch stations in Russia or China to the White House is 30 minutes, and 12 minutes or less for missiles fired from subs lurking in the Atlantic the steadiness and brainpower of the commander in chief in such circumstances are serious questions indeed.
The public want to know will he remain calm or panic, become discombobulated and driven to order an immediate nuclear response on the basis of false information.
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Other senior figures will be involved in the all-important chain of command, like incoming US Secretary of Defence retired US Marine General James Mattis
But Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington, says ultimately, the sole authority to launch a nuke rests with the President.
"There are no checks and balances on the President's authority to launch a nuclear strike," he told the .
"But between the time he authorises one and the time it's carried out there are other people involved."
In theory, Trump would give the order to launch and the secretary of defence is constitutionally obliged to carry it out.
He could refuse to obey the order if he had reason to doubt the president's sanity, but this would constitute mutiny and the president can then fire him and just assign the task to his deputy.
Under the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution a vice-president could, in theory, declare the president 'mentally incapable' of taking a proper decision.
However, even then he would need the backing of the majority of the cabinet.
Trump infamously called for the expansion of the United States' nuclear capabilities in a tweet that many said could fuel global tensions.
In a Twitter post, Trump said, "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," but gave no further details.
It was not clear what prompted his comment.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia needed to "strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces."
Asked about the tweet, Trump spokesman Jason Miller later said Trump was "referring to the threat of nuclear proliferation and the critical need to prevent it - particularly to and among terrorist organisations and unstable and rogue regimes."
Trump has also "emphasised the need to improve and modernise his country's deterrent capability as a vital way to pursue peace through strength.
So how big are Trump and Russia's nuclear arsenals?
