History of the “Red Phone” in the White House
Some new information came out during discussions of the recent Russian cyberattack targeting Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
FOX’s Jane Metzler reports one thing we learned had to do with the Cold War era White House Red Phone:
It’s been featured in films and TV shows whenever there’s tension between the U.S. and Russia or what used to be called the Soviet Union, the so-called red-phone:
(Seller) “Well let me finish Dimitri.”
That’s actor Peter Sellers in the 1964 comedy ’Dr. Strangelove’. President Obama first confronted Vladimir Putin face-to-face back in September about evidence linking Russia to cyberattacks targeting Hillary Clinton’s campaign, thinking it best to:
(President Obama) “Talk to him directly and tell him to cut it out.”
But on October 31, the President felt compelled to do something he’d never done in his entire presidency, he used the red phone or the nuclear risk reduction center line, which as it turns out, is no longer an actual phone, nor is it red or in the White House, it’s a secure email and chat link, housed deep inside the Pentagon. It’s seldom used.
Jane Metzler, FOX News.
