President Donald Trump leaves the CIA headquarters. A military aide in the background carries the "nuclear football." Photo by Olivier Doulier - Pool/Getty Images
American presidents are accompanied by a military aide carrying a briefcase with the tools necessary for nuclear war.
During presidential inaugurations, nuclear command authority and the "nuclear football," as the briefcase is called, are transferred to the new president.
But President Donald Trump says he will not participate in President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, which could complicate the transfer.
The Pentagon told Insider there was a plan for the transfer in that scenario but declined to provide details. Nuclear-weapons experts and a former military aide who carried the briefcase were able to offer some insight though.
