U.S. Strategic Command, the unified military force responsible for launching nuclear strikes, apologized Monday for a tweet in which it said it was ready to “drop something much, much bigger” than the New Year’s Eve ball over New York City’s Times Square.
The original tweet, which was screen grabbed and shared in other tweets, included a video of a B-2 stealth bomber training mission in which it was shown releasing two bombs.
The New York Times reported that a spokesman for U.S. Strategic Command said the post was part of a Year in Review series in which command priorities were being spotlighted, such as strategic deterrence, decisive response and combat-ready force.
Reaction on Twitter included those who were shocked and outraged by the tone of the tweet and others who said it wasn’t a big deal.
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1079879321039310848
A later tweet Monday afternoon from @US_Stratcom offered an apology and called the first post “in poor taste.”
https://twitter.com/US_Stratcom/status/1079881433072717824
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1079883050513846272
https://twitter.com/PhD_femme/status/1079885301831610369
https://twitter.com/thelastpinkcar/status/1079884311355109387
https://twitter.com/ksax48/status/1079889150466289669
https://twitter.com/maybonne55/status/1079884813945819137