Donald Trump Wednesday ruled out using nuclear weapons against America's enemies but cautioned that "you don't want to take everything off the table."
"I would be very, very slow and hesitant to pull that trigger," the Republican presidential front-runner said in a tense exchange with MSNBC host Chris Matthews in a town hall at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. "I would be the last one to use nuclear weapons."
When Matthews pressed Trump on where he would drop a nuclear bomb — and any signal that it might send to the Middle East or other portions of the world — the developer countered that it was important to keep his options open.
"Nuclear should be off the table, but would there be a time when it can be used? Possibly."
Here is the rest of the exchange:
Matthews: "Can you tell the Middle East we'll never use nuclear weapons?"
Trump: "I would never say that, I would never take my cards off the table."
Matthews: "What about Europe?"
Trump: "I am not taking cards off the table. I'm not going to use nukes, but I'm not taking any cards off the table."
Matthews: "The trouble is that people hear you — and the insane people are not affected by your threats."
Trump: "I think they're more effective than you might think."