US President Donald Trump on Sunday reaffirmed his decision to restart nuclear testing in the United States, insisting that despite the country possessing enough weapons “to blow up the world 150 times,” testing is necessary to counter the nuclear ambitions of Russia and China.
In an interview, the Republican leader argued that Washington should not be the only major power refraining from such tests, especially when other nations continue to develop their arsenals. His comments came just hours before a scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Earlier, Trump had taken to Truth Social to direct the Department of Defence to begin nuclear testing “immediately,” marking a dramatic policy shift after more than three decades.
Defending his position, Trump said that other nations were actively conducting nuclear tests, and the US must not remain idle.
“We have more nuclear weapons than any other country. And I think we should do something about denuclearisation. I discussed that with both President Putin and President Xi. We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot,” he told.
The US president maintained that he did not wish for America to be the “only country that doesn’t test.”
He added, “You know, you do have to and the reason I’m saying testing is because Russia announced that they were going to be doing a test. If you notice, North Korea’s testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We’re the only country that doesn’t test, and I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test.”
Trump’s statement came in the backdrop of Russia reportedly testing its “unlimited range” nuclear missile, the Burevestnik. The president also remarked that, unlike Moscow or Beijing, Washington operates as an “open society” that does not conceal its activities.
“We’re different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to report—they don’t have reporters that are going to be writing about it. We do,” he said.
However, Trump’s proposal to resume nuclear testing—three decades after the last such exercise—has drawn scepticism from lawmakers and defence officials.
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Vice Admiral Richard Correll, nominated by Trump to lead the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), told Capitol Hill that neither China nor Russia has conducted any recent explosive nuclear tests.
“I believe the quote was, ‘start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis.’ Neither China or Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test, so I’m not reading anything into it or reading anything out of it,” Correll stated.
The United States last conducted a nuclear test in September 1992 under Operation Julin, a series of seven underground detonations that marked the end of an era before the negotiation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The CTBT, an international accord prohibiting all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes, has been signed by 187 countries, including China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel and Russia. However, only 178 nations have ratified the treaty. The United States remains a signatory but has never ratified the accord.
Trump’s renewed interest in nuclear testing is likely to reignite debates on global arms control and non-proliferation, potentially straining relations with Washington’s allies and further complicating its diplomatic engagements with rival powers.
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