President Donald Trump has ordered the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines in response to what he described as “foolish and inflammatory statements” made by Russian officials.
Announcing the move on Friday via his Truth Social platform, Trump cited “highly provocative statements” from Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who now serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
“I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump posted.
“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Consistent with standard military protocol, Trump did not specify the locations of the submarines.
This marks the first time Trump has publicly referenced and directed movement of the U.S. nuclear arsenal since returning to office.
Medvedev, writing on social media Thursday, invoked the Soviet Union’s automatic nuclear strike system and urged Trump to imagine a scenario akin to the TV series The Walking Dead.
The development follows Trump’s announcement on July 14 in which he pledged to impose “severe sanctions” on Russia and boost military aid to Ukraine if President Vladimir Putin failed to accept a ceasefire deal within 50 days.
In a post on X earlier this week, Medvedev criticized Trump’s ultimatum, writing: “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.”
The Kremlin has not responded to Trump’s latest remarks or the submarine deployment.
Later on Friday, the president addressed reporters to elaborate on his decision.
“A threat was made, and we didn’t think it was appropriate. So I have to be very careful,” Trump said while departing the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews.
“I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia. And we’re going to protect our people.”
On Thursday, Trump had already issued a warning to Medvedev, stating he should “watch his words” and cautioning that the Russian official was “entering very dangerous territory!”
In recent weeks, Trump’s tone toward Russia has taken a markedly harder edge. Earlier in July, he dismissed Putin’s peace efforts as little more than “bulls***” during what he described as “stagnant” negotiations.
