--- 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: 2026-04-13T07:55:14.784Z 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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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b2428a63-7a55-451e-b13d-154337979de1&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Oct 3, 2018 7:46 PM UTC  NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 03: In this photo illustration, a phone displays an emergency alert message that reads "Presidential Alert. THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed" on October 3, 2018 in New York City. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent the "presidential alert" as a test to millions of phones across the United States. (Photo Illustration by Theo Wargo/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 03: In this photo illustration, a phone displays an emergency alert message that reads "Presidential Alert. THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed" on October 3, 2018 in New York City. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent the "presidential alert" as a test to millions of phones across the United States. (Photo Illustration by Theo Wargo/Getty Images) Theo Wargo—Getty Images 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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