Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Trump pledges to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, designate KKK a terrorist group in pitch to Black voters MORE on Monday took a swipe at President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE following a report that he floated the idea of dropping nuclear bombs into hurricanes to prevent them from reaching the United States.

"We should not nuke hurricanes," Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, tweeted. We should not nuke hurricanes. — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 26, 2019 Her comments came just a day after Axios reported that Trump had floated the idea in meetings with Homeland Security and national security officials. The news outlet, citing sources who have heard the president's private remarks and have been briefed on a National Security Council memorandum, noted that the president made the suggestions while receiving briefings about hurricanes.

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"Why don't we nuke them?" Trump reportedly said at a White House briefing, asserting that a bomb "inside the eye of the hurricane" could disrupt it.

Trump earlier Monday pushed back against the report, saying that the story was "fake news."

"The story by Axios that President Trump wanted to blow up large hurricanes with nuclear weapons prior to reaching shore is ridiculous," he tweeted. "I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!"

The idea of utilizing nuclear weapons to thwart hurricanes has been floated before. A fact sheet from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes that the idea gains attention every hurricane season. But the organization said that the action could cause substantial harm to the environment.