Billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer floated "nuclear war" in an interview this week as a possible "course correction" for the United States to rid the country of President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE before quickly walking back the comment.

Steyer, a leading critic on the left calling for Trump's impeachment, told Rolling Stone in an interview that a nuclear conflict would be a "quicker" way to turn public opinion against Trump, likening the possibility to former President George W. Bush's deployment of U.S. troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.

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"I remember 2006. What happened is that George W. Bush, he put us in two disastrous wars and we were headed toward the biggest financial disaster since the Great Depression," Steyer said.

"So if the answer is that we need those three things to happen for a course correction, I'd prefer to move a little quicker," he added. "Maybe we can have, like, a nuclear war and then we get a real course correction."

Steyer quickly walked back the remark in the interview, stressing that he was hoping to spur Trump's impeachment to prevent "suffering" of Americans and others around the world.

"I should be a little bit more tempered: I take back that remark about nuclear war. The correction happened because the United States got screwed, and American citizens lost their houses and American citizens lost their lives," he said.

"We're trying to act expeditiously to avoid the suffering of American citizens," Steyer concluded.

The liberal billionaire has spent millions of dollars on an ad campaign urging Democratic lawmakers to support articles of impeachment for the president if the Democrats retake the House in November's midterm elections.

Dozens of House lawmakers have signed on to the effort, but it has yet to gain support among party leadership including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (D-Calif.), who has dismissed the possibility of seeking impeachment for now.