The Impact of Public Perception on US Nuclear Policy

Dylan Myars: How much impact does public perception or opinion have on US nuclear policy? And how does addressing public messaging compare to other mitigation strategies? Presidents tend to look at public polling in the following way. They find out what polls say and then they anticipate, if I do this, how will the public react? Will they encourage this? Will they punish it? There's usually a rally around the flag effect, but it's usually short, not very long-lasting.