--- title: How People Reacted to the Presidential Fema Alert description: Reactions ranged from anger about receiving an unwanted message from Trump to confusion and concern when phones did not receive an alert. canonical: https://time.com/5414349/fema-alert/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-03T19:46:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:01:30.178Z og:title: The Presidential Alert Happened and Here Are the Reactions og:description: 225 million phones in the U.S. got a Presidential alert test og:url: https://time.com/5414349/fema-alert/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7064b6ba07c68ccb/69893bbfdb2987fbfe260d91/presidentialalert.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2048 og:image:height: 1152 og:image:alt: FEMA Tests New Presidential Alert System og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Presidential Alert Happened and Here Are the Reactions twitter:description: 225 million phones in the U.S. got a Presidential alert test twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7064b6ba07c68ccb/69893bbfdb2987fbfe260d91/presidentialalert.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Have Plenty to Say About the First Presidential Alert > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f5fc8507-2a6b-4fb7-81d8-61ac8c835926&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 225 Million Phones Received a Presidential Alert Wednesday. No, It's Not a Text From President Trump [Watch (HLS stream): 225 Million Phones Received a Presidential Alert Wednesday. No, It's Not a Text From President Trump](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/u64FIbC4.m3u8) (0:57)  _Published 2018-10-03. On Wednesday afternoon, nearly every smart phone in America blared and vibrated with an emergency alert – the first ever test of the national Presidential Alert system._ by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Oct 3, 2018 7:46 PM UTC On Wednesday afternoon, nearly every smart phone in America blared and vibrated with an emergency alert – the first ever test of the national Presidential Alert system. by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Oct 3, 2018 7:46 PM UTC On Wednesday afternoon FEMA conducted its first test of the the [nationwide Presidential alert](http://time.com/5400574/presidential-alert-donald-trump-fema/) and social media was full of mixed reactions. The Presidential Alert is similar to the state-level systems that let police and local authorities send out AMBER Alerts and weather warnings. The biggest difference is it’s scale. At 2:18 p.m. 225 million smart phones in the United States received a Presidential Alert. It featured a loud alarm, followed by vibration that lasted around one minute, and required no action. On screens far and wide, it read: --- > “” --- News of the Presidential Alert test drew immediate criticism on some corners of social media – with some people vowing to turn off their phones, believing wrongly that they will be a captive audience of President Donald Trump. Some even mused – incorrectly – that the system would allow him to tweet to every American. The test seemed to go off without a hitch and reactions ranged from anger about receiving an unwanted message from Trump to confusion and concern when phones did not receive an alert. It was clear that some, like _Jimmy Kimmel Live!_ Jimmy Kimmel host, had already planned their Presidential Alert “reaction” posts. > [](https://twitter.com/jimmykimmel/status/1047552325668065280) > [](https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1047559047338180608) > [](https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/status/1047552504169345024) **MORE**: [225 Million Phones Just Received a Presidential Alert. No, It Was Not a Text From President Trump](http://time.com/5400574/presidential-alert-donald-trump-fema/) Wednesday’s test was meant to assess the readiness to distribute an emergency message nationwide, and determine whether there are improvements to be made, according to FEMA. 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