Donald Trump struggled to explain his shock Truth Social post announcing the immediate resumption of U.S. nuclear testing after 33 years, which was sent minutes before a meeting with the leader of China.
The president, 79, posted on Wednesday that he wanted the Pentagon to test America’s nuclear arsenal on an “equal basis” with other global nuclear powers.
“The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office,” Trump wrote. “Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice!”
He noted that Russia is second when it comes to nuclear power, and China “a distant third”—but that they will be even within five years.
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote. “That process will begin immediately.”
In fact, according to the Federation of American Scientists, Russia has the most nuclear warheads of any country, with an estimated total of around 4,300 warheads available for use, against around 3,700 for the U.S.
The last nuclear weapons test in the U.S. was in Nevada in 1992, with President George H.W. Bush halting testing following the fall of the Soviet Union.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One after leaving South Korea, Trump was asked what had prompted his post about nuclear testing, which was sent just before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of his Asian tour.
“It had to do with others. They all seem to be nuclear testing,” Trump said.
When asked if he was referring to Russia, Trump sidestepped the question and said, “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don’t do testing—halted it many years ago. With others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do testing also.“
After being asked where the testing would happen and when it would start, the president stated, “It will be announced. We have testing sites.”
Trump repeated himself after being asked a follow-up question about the world entering a more “risky” environment in terms of nuclear issues.
“No, I think we have it pretty well locked up,” he said, before mentioning again that America has more nuclear weaponry than any other country.
“I see them testing,” Trump said. “And I say, ‘If they’re gonna test I guess we have to test.’ I’d like to see a denuclearization, because we have so many and… I think denuclearization would be a tremendous thing and we are actually talking to Russia about that and China would be added to that if we do something.”
Trump did not clarify if he meant testing of nuclear explosives, which would be conducted by the National Nuclear Safety Administration, or flight testing of nuclear-capable missiles.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump’s nuclear directive also one day after Russia said it had tested a nuclear-powered missile that caused a tsunami.
“We need to identify potential uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying this weapon in our armed forces,” President Vladimir Putin, 73, said in a video released by the Kremlin.
Earlier this week, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be focussed on ending the war in Ukraine “instead of testing missiles.”
China has not tested a nuclear weapon since 1996, but the country has been rapidly increasing its stockpile, which in March stood at about 600 warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Trump also rated his meeting with President Xi Jinping, saying “I guess on the scale of from zero to 10 with 10 being the best I would say the meeting was a 12.”
Former California Gov. Jerry Brown, who is also the executive chair of the nonprofit Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said that the U.S. resuming nuclear testing could be a “terrible precedent” for the world.
Speaking on CNN’s The Story Is with Elex Michaelson on Wednesday, Brown admitted it was unclear what Trump’s Truth Social post actually meant.
“Putin is not conducting any explosive tests like underground testing, like America did in Nevada,” Brown said. “He tests missiles. So does America. So does China. So does North Korea. Testing missiles is well within the norm of what‘s going on by the big countries.”
“If you’re going to go to underground nuclear explosions, that is a bad, bad and terrible precedent that will start a whole arms race of nuclear testing and the inevitable innovations and new types of nuclear weapons. I don‘t think that‘s what Trump meant? It‘ll be clarified, presumably in the morning.”
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