It’s not often for a government official to use the phrases “a terrorist group having a nuclear weapon” and “exciting times ahead,” but one member of the cabinet did that this weekend, leading to heavy criticism.
The comments came in an interview that Doug Burgum, the Secretary of the Interior, gave to CNBC’s Squawk Box program on Friday.
“President Trump truly has set up America for an age of abundance — what we’re going to see coming out the backside of this — now with the threat of having a terrorist group having a nuclear weapon and their will to use it, their desire to use it, their stated desire to use that weapon, is again gonna be a game-changer for America and exciting times ahead,”
Burgum: “Now with the threat of having a terrorist group having a nuclear weapon and their will to use it, their desire to use it, is gonna be a game-changer for America and exciting times ahead” pic.twitter.com/KzGOWdssw2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 12, 2026
It was an extremely bizarre disquisition to mention the nuclear terrorist threat in between promising “an age of abundance” and “exciting times ahead.” His interviewer appeared confused for a moment, but did not follow up on the comment.
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There was a strong reaction to this comment, including from commentator Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, who wrote on X that “love to invent incredibly unlikely threats, set off a massive war that does serious damage to U.S. interests at obscene fiscal costs to fight that incredibly unlikely threat, then declare victory on a claim that the incredibly unlikely threat now definitely won’t happen.”
Love to invent incredibly unlikely threats, set off a massive war that does serious damage to U.S. interests at obscene fiscal costs to fight that incredibly unlikely threat, then declare victory on a claim that the incredibly unlikely threat now definitely won’t happen. https://t.co/sDR2fsGsgG
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) June 12, 2026
One of the many differences between me and Trump’s Interior Secretary Burgum is this:
When I think of exciting times ahead, I think of an NCAA tournament basketball game headed into overtime. Burgum, on the other hand, thinks of terrorists with nuclear weapons. We ain’t the same https://t.co/t0gRtTFc6e— jthomasmadden (@JThomasMadden1) June 12, 2026
this is the Interior Secretary on CNBC. about nuclear-armed terrorists. he called it ‘exciting times ahead.’https://t.co/7GIQKuJADO
— CryptoProphet (@CryptProphet) June 12, 2026
🎪 ; 🥸 ; 😵💫🤖📄 https://t.co/51YivkxIal
— Kabukiman Sanjo (@Kabukimanned) June 12, 2026
Doug Burgum is a great example of how Trump turns everyone around him into a painfully sycophantic hack. When Burgum ran for president in 2024, he seemed like a reasonably serious traditional conservative. Now he’s on TV saying extraordinarily silly things all the time. https://t.co/tn7aV2Zg2Q
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) June 13, 2026
In a Cabinet filled with shameless, boot licking toadies, Burgum has really distinguished himself 🤡 https://t.co/0VSEKqUpqI
— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) June 13, 2026
Photo courtesy of Department of the Interior official portrait.
