The quote below was written in the mid 1900s: "Surely no sane member of the human race could discover victory in such desolation." —President Dwight Eisenhower. What was President Eisenhower referring to with this statement?

prospect of a war using thermonuclear weapons.

Explanation:

The given excerpt is taken from the speech delivered by President Dwight Eisenhower on 8th December 1953. The title of the speech was "Atoms for Peace." The speech was delivered to the General Assembly of the United States. In the given quote President Eisenhower is talking about the prospect of a war using nuclear weapons. There were possible threats of the Cold War and Soviet possessed sufficient atomic weapons.

On 30th October 1953, President Eisenhower signed a 9,000-word document on the "New Look" foreign policy.

So, the correct answer is that is referred to the prospect of using thermonuclear weapons during war.

four sitting presidents have been assassinated while in office but the first was abraham lincoln,