Nuklearbluff oder Treten in Richtung Krieg? Wie Trumps U -Boot -Bedrohung ausspielen könnte

[Donald Trump ](https://inews.co.uk/topic/donald-trump?srsltid=AfmBOooEHLRlMlCvWXxooZiqmA22LsDQm3838r78LhJnE_5_Pt1Lhh4y&ico=in-line_link)has long used his Truth Social messaging platform to vent his fury at a variety of targets. Until Friday, however, he had not deployed it for the purpose of nuclear sabre-rattling. 

In a post which simultaneously caused consternation and the scratching of heads in high offices from London to Moscow, the US President elevated a social media spat with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to an exercise in nuclear brinkmanship when he said he had ordered two ballistic missile submarines to change course for Russia.  

The manoeuvre, which Trump this weekend doubled down on by confirming in an interview that two US Navy nuclear submarines “are getting closer to Russia”, followed messages from Medvedev, a provocative ally of Vladimir Putin, ruminating on the possibility of war between Moscow and Washington. 

Some 72 hours after Trump’s social media post, the wider significance of the move remains obscured by silence from Moscow and disquiet elsewhere over the US President’s intentions. 

Here are three scenarios for just how Trump’s submarine threat could develop.

The value of a nuclear submarine’s deterrent lies in the enemy not knowing where it is.