Former President Donald Trump announced that he has instructed the United States to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing, saying the move is necessary to maintain parity with other global powers.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday night, Trump wrote, “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.”
He added, “Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”
The announcement follows Trump’s recent warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. has a nuclear submarine positioned “right off their shores,” after Russia conducted its own missile tests.
During a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday morning, Trump emphasized that the United States is “not playing games” with Russia. When asked about Moscow’s claim that it tested a new missile capable of traveling more than 8,000 miles, Trump responded, “I know we have a nuclear submarine, the greatest in the world, right off their shores. So, I mean, it doesn’t have to go 8,000 miles, and they’re not playing games with us. We’re not playing games with them either.”
He continued, “We test missiles all the time. But, you know, we do have a submarine, a nuclear submarine. We don’t need to go 8,000 miles. And I don’t think it’s an appropriate thing for Putin to be saying either, by the way. You ought to get the war ended. A war that should have taken one week is now in its soon [to be] fourth year. That’s what you ought to do instead of testing missiles.”
Trump also suggested he may impose further sanctions on Russia, telling reporters, “You’ll find out.”
Russia’s defense ministry announced Sunday that it had successfully tested a nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, which it claims can travel more than 8,000 miles and evade defense systems. President Putin said Russia is preparing to deploy the weapon. According to Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, the missile traveled 8,700 miles and remained airborne for about 15 hours during its October 21 test.
