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On Wednesday, President Trump declared that he has directed the Defense Department to immediately start testing U.S. nuclear weapons on par with China and Russia.
“The United States possesses more nuclear weapons than any other nation,” Trump stated. “This achievement, including a complete overhaul and modernization of our existing arsenal, was accomplished during my first term. Despite the immense destructive capability, I was reluctant to do this, but felt it was unavoidable. Russia ranks second, and China, though currently a distant third, could catch up within five years.”
The Hill has contacted the Pentagon for a response.
Trump’s announcement on TruthSocial came just before his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday, marking their first face-to-face encounter since 2019.
Later, Trump dismissed a reporter’s inquiry about his decision while meeting with Xi and the Chinese delegation in South Korea, shortly before the press was escorted out of the room.
The U.S. halted the explosive testing of nuclear arms in 1992.
Former Trump’s national security advisor, Robert C. O’Brien, encouraged Trump, a presidential candidate, in June last year to test nuclear weapons if he wins the 2024 White House election.
“Washington must test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world for the first time since 1992—not just by using computer models,” O’Brien wrote in an article for the Foreign Affairs magazine, which was published in June last year. “If China and Russia continue to refuse to engage in good-faith arms control talks, the United States should also resume production of uranium-235 and plutonium-239, the primary fissile isotopes of nuclear weapons.”
Russia claimed it tested its new nuclear-capable cruise missile, known as the Burevestnik, last week, which purportedly flew 8,700 miles.
The test was met with international condemnation, including from Trump, who called it “inappropriate” as he is pushing the Kremlin to come to the table and negotiate a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“You’ve got to get the war ended. A war that should have taken one week is now in its soon fourth year,” the president said on Monday. “That’s what you ought to do, instead of testing missiles.”
“We test missiles all the time. They’re not playing games with us, and we’re not playing games with them either,” Trump added.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Moscow successfully tested a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone. The test was conducted on Tuesday, with Putin claiming the nuclear reactor that powers the Poseidon drone is “100 times smaller” than those on submarines.
Updated at 10:27 p.m. EDT