The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is testing a new system next week that allows President Trump to send messages directly to U.S. cellphones.
All major wireless firms and more than 100 mobile carriers are participating in the new Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) program that allows for presidential alerts, FEMA wrote in a Thursday statement.
“The EAS [Emergency Alert System] is a national public warning system that provides the president with the communications capability to address the nation during a national emergency,” FEMA said in a statement.
Compatible cell phones will receive a text message that reads “Presidential Alert” and “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
The EAS is also used with radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers, the agency said.
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Cellphone users cannot opt out of receiving alerts in accordance with the 2006 Warning, Alert and Response Network Act passed by Congress.
Despite Trump’s frequent use of Twitter as a method of communicating, experts told NBC News on Friday that Trump would not overuse the “Presidential Alert” system.
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There will be an initial test of the presidential alert system on Sept. 20 at 2:18 p.m. Eastern.
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Trump will be able to send messages to US cell phones with FEMA alert system https://t.co/pOxp7EUUmD pic.twitter.com/BORZQJqrAQ
— The Hill (@thehill) September 15, 2018
I really don’t want to hear from Trump in an emergency. I guess since I can’t turn him off, I’ll be turning my cell off more often. Save battery life.
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