WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — President Trump said Sunday his administration would “get involved” to do something about Hawaii’s false emergency alert that a ballistic missile was headed for the island.
“That was a state thing but we are going to now get involved with them,” Mr. Trump told reporters at Trump International Golf Course, where he was having dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
He commended Hawaii officials for taking responsibility for causing a panic on the island Saturday by sending out the false alarm to cell phones, and not correcting the mistake for about 38 minutes.
“I love that they took responsibility. They took total responsibility,” he said. “I think it is terrific. They took responsibility. They made a mistake.”
Asked what he would do to prevent a repeat, Mr. Trump said, “We hope it won’t happen again.”
He said the panic in Hawaii was intensified by the nuclear missile threat from North Korea.
“Part of it is people are on edge, but maybe eventually we will solve the problem so they won’t have to be so on edge,” he said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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