I enjoy this teeny tiny character moment. We know from expository dialogue earlier that Pres. was a fighter pilot, and here he is, waiting and watching the bomber on the monitor before giving the order to deploy. He gestures with his hand, kind of tapping out the seconds, picturing what he’s seeing from inside the cockpit as he does so, before finally giving the order at the right time for HIM. What with his reluctance/refusal earlier to use nukes, I think he wants to delay this as long as possible, even if it’s a few seconds.
