Getty Trump with Mike Pence and Melania Trump visiting FEMA headquarters.
Now that the first Presidential Alert is being released, people are wondering just how the alert can be used. Could President Donald Trump theoretically use the alert to send out messages and opinions that he would normally just share in a tweet?
Unlike the President’s many posts on Twitter, the Presidential Alert’s uses are far more limited. The alert is an audio and text warning similar to the AMBER and emergency weather alert notifications that you already get on your phone.
The presidential alert is used nationwide, but it can only be used for advance warning about national crises.
@The_Britany Hi there, this alert is not a text message. It will look like messages you get for AMBER alerts & weather. The Presidential Alert will only be used for national emergencies. The test is intended to assess the readiness of our nationwide alert systems.
Jeh Johnson, Homeland Security chief, told CBS This Morning: “It should be reserved for true situations, true emergencies when we need to get the public’s attention.” It’s not supposed to be used for political purposes, and it will only be used very rarely.
The political purposes point is especially important, he noted, since people cannot opt out of the presidential alert. There are laws in place and protocols that make sure the use is in accordance with the law, he emphasized.
In fact, the law states: “The public alert and warning system shall not be used to transmit a message that does not relate to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster or threat to public safety.”
If an alert is needed, it will be sent out at the direction of the President or his designee, and then activated by FEMA, FEMA noted. So there are a lot of steps and laws that must be followed before an alert can even be sent. And it’s only supposed to be sent in situations related to natural disasters, terrorism, a manmade disaster, or another threat to public safety. You shouldn’t be getting any presidential alerts through the WEA system that are politically based or at all similar to the tweets that Trump sends out every day.