Leftist billionaire suggests nuclear war for political 'course correction,' immediately backtracks

Tom Steyer, the billionaire progressive activist who has tried his hardest to further the movement to impeach President Donald Trump, recently said that nuclear war could be a way for the U.S. change its current political course.

What did he say?

In an interview with Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson, Steyer — also Democratic megadonor and environmentalist — said that the Democrats have to make the ouster of Trump their No. 1 priority — a stark contrast to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her stance that Democrats shouldn't run for office simply on the grounds of getting Trump out.

During the interview, which was published Friday, Dickinson spoke of Steyer's opposition to Pelosi's ideals, noting that she opposed former President George W. Bush in 2006.

"[Pelosi] pointed to how she dealt with George W. Bush – whom many wanted to impeach," Dickinson said to Steyer. "She believes the decision to take impeachment off the table helped Democrats take the House in 2006, and paved a path to Obama and a deeper correction."

Steyer noted that he remembered 2006.

"What happened is that George W. Bush, he put us in two disastrous wars and we were headed toward the biggest financial disaster since the Great Depression," Steyer fired back. "So if the answer is that we need those three things to happen for a course correction, I'd prefer to move a little quicker. How about that? But I take your point. Maybe we can have, like, a nuclear war and then we get a real course correction."

Steyer seemed to immediately backtrack on the remark about nuclear war when Dickinson said that Steyer's thought was a "sobering" one.

"We’re trying to do what’s right," Steyer amended. "And 2006/2008 did not happen because George W. Bush didn’t get impeached, is what I’m saying. I should be a little bit more tempered: I take back that remark about nuclear war."

Steyer added, "The correction happened because the United States got screwed, and American citizens lost their houses and American citizens lost their lives – and, by the way, there was a terrible climate-related crisis, New Orleans, that the president fumbled. So that course correction was based on the suffering of American citizens. We’re trying to act expeditiously to avoid the suffering of American citizens."

Anything else?

In February, Steyer made one of his many anti-Trump tweets — this one regarding North Korea — and wrote, "Deciding to launch nuclear weapons is no laughing matter. Join me, four leading mental health professionals, and a nuclear weapons expert tomorrow at 7:00 PM ET for a discussion on presidential mental health & nuclear weapons."

Deciding to launch nuclear weapons is no laughing matter. Join me, four leading mental health professionals, and a nuclear weapons expert tomorrow at 7:00 PM ET for a discussion on presidential mental health & nuclear weapons. pic.twitter.com/rbdiyzrBry

— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) February 11, 2018