You need to think like a Democrat. Everything they do is according to a plan. Including this news.
So the right question is what are they scheming? There's a few options:
Actually detonate a nuclear weapon somewhere
Have the military brass claim that they stopped the madman from launching nuclear weapons
Use a nuclear weapon to generate an EMP for comms blackout
Something else? But make no mistake about it, associating a madman with the nuclear codes is deliberate for some nefarious purpose.