Well, this doesn't exactly reassure me. You?

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Reagan 'jokes' about bombing Soviet Union, Aug. 11, 1984

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/11/this-day-in-politics-aug-11-1984-241413

On this day in 1984, a Saturday, President Ronald Reagan was getting ready for his weekly 9 a.m. live broadcast, to be aired on this occasion from his ranch, Rancho del Cielo, near Santa Barbara, California. Reagan, a former on-air commentator, was asked by the “pool” National Public Radio engineers to make a pre-broadcast mic check. He obliged, declaring, “My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”

News of his flippant remark soon leaked to the media, turning what Reagan believed to be a harmless private quip into an international embarrassment, precipitating dismay among America’s allies and providing fodder for Soviet propaganda mills.