A U.S. president shouldn’t conduct a nuclear first strike unless an adversary has already attacked America or its allies with nuclear weapons or Congress has given the president that authority. That power in the wrong hands could lead to nuclear armageddon.
To deny the president even the possibility of launching a unilateral nuclear first strike give our enemies leverage. There could be scenarios where there’s only a brief window to launch a preemptive strike before an adversary can attack America or its allies.