Donald Trump denies asking foreign policy advisor three times 'why can't we use nuclear weapons?'

Republican's spokesperson insists 'there is no truth' in claims

Donald Trump has denied asking a foreign policy advisor why the US could not use nuclear weapons three times during one hour-long meeting.

MSNBC commentator Joe Scarborough claimed the Republican nominee was visited by the expert earlier this year and repeatedly demanded to know why the US could not launch weapons of mass destruction.

The claims were made during an on-air conversation with Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA and the National Security Agency.

Mr Hayden told the network he could not consider voting for the billionaire estate magnate because of his “erratic” behaviour and lack of consistency.

“Inconsistency, unpredictably - those are dangerous things,” he warned. “They frighten your friends.”

Recalling a meeting he claimed took place earlier this year, Scarborough replied: “Several months ago, a foreign policy expert of international level went to advise Donald Trump and three times he asked about the use of nuclear weapons.

"Three times he asked, at one point, ‘if we have them, why can’t we use them?’ That’s one of the reasons why he just doesn’t have foreign policy experts around him. Mr Trump asked three times in an hour briefing, ‘why we can’t we use nuclear weapons?”

A spokesperson for Mr Trump told the Independent: “There is no truth to this.”

In March, Mr Trump refused to rule out using nuclear weapons against Europe, telling the same network he is not willing to “take any cards off the table”.

“I would be very, very slow to pull that trigger,” Mr Trump said. “[But] if someone hits us with a nuke, you wouldn’t fight back with a nuke?”

Mr Trump’s apparent unpredictability is something Hillary Clinton and his opponents have continually used against him in the campaign for the White House.

In her speech to the Democratic National Convention, Ms Clinton warned voters his temperament would not work in the Oval Office. ”A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.”