US officials tussled with Chinese guards over nuclear football — report

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and a US guard reportedly scuffled with Chinese security during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing last year, after a military official holding nuclear launch codes was kept from accompanying the president.

The report, in US political news site Axios on Sunday, claims that the confrontation occurred when Trump was visiting Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on November 9, during a state visit to China.

During the visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, local security guards tried to keep a military official carrying what is known as the “nuclear football” from accompanying Trump.

The briefcase, which allows the president to launch a nuclear attack or take other strategic measures in case of emergency, is supposed to be near the president at all times.

When Kelly was alerted and told the military official to keep walking despite the Chinese orders, a donnybrook erupted.

“A Chinese security official grabbed Kelly, and Kelly shoved the man’s hand off of his body. Then a US Secret Service agent grabbed the Chinese security official and tackled him to the ground,” according to the report.

The report, which has not been confirmed, was based on five unnamed sources, according to Axios. The White House did not immediately comment on the report.

The scuffle was over in a few seconds and Chinese guards never touched the nuclear briefcase, according to the report. The Chinese security detail later apologized over the misunderstanding, Axios said.

This is not the first time the nuclear football has made the news under Trump. A year ago, as Trump was holding security consultations in the open with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, a member took a photo with the man holding the briefcase, posting it and the official’s name to Facebook and raising questions about security surrounding the president.

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