Trump Jr thinks it would be a good thing if his dad still had the nuclear codes

Now that they’re safely away from the White House, the mumblings of the extended Trump family tend to alarm us less.

But occasionally, a line pops out that chills us to the bone.

The latest is from Donald Trump Jr, who claims it would be a “good” thing if his father - who lives at a Florida resort and is a private citizen - still held the nuclear codes.

At a campaign event for Florida Rep Matt Gaetz on Monday, he mocked those who are concerned about claims the ex-president held top-secret documents at his private address.

In an exaggerated tone, Trump Jr said: “'Donald Trump has the nuclear codes, in the linen closet at Mar a Lago!”

He then added: “By the way, for the record, I’d say that if Donald Trump actually still had the nuclear codes, it’d probably be good.

“Our enemies might actually be like 'let's not mess with them’ unlike when they look at Joe Biden and say 'we should attack now'.”

The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago on August 8 and seized boxes of documents, which prosecutors believe contain classified materials.

The search warrant showed the FBI was investigating Trump for a potential violation of the Espionage Act.

Donald Trump and his allies have been all over the map in the wake of the shock search.

He’s accused the FBI of planting evidence, and argued he could take sensitive materials to Mar-a-Lago because he had a standing order to declassify any documents he took from the Oval Office to his White House residence.

One Twitter user pointed out the twisting story that's rapidly evolved as Trump seemingly panics:

This week Trump filed a suit against the U.S. government over the search, trying to stop Department of Justice authorities from reading the materials until a court official can be appointed to review the documents to decide if any should be returned.