President Donald Trump downplayed the resumption of U.S. nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades by pointing to other countries that are doing the same.
In a Truth Social post Thursday, the president said he directed the Pentagon to “immediately” test nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with other countries with nuclear powers.
Trump wrote the post just before his meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping while on his tour across Asia. After the meeting, on his way back to Washington, D.C., on Air Force One, reporters asked him what prompted the decision.
“With others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also,” the U.S. president told reporters. “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.”
When pressed as to when the nuclear testing would begin, Trump said the timing would “be announced.”
Earlier in the day, he wrote on Truth Social: “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. 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 last confirmed U.S. nuclear test was in 1992 under President George H.W. Bush, while China’s was in 1996.
In 1992, Bush announced a unilateral moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. Four years later, President Bill Clinton signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, calling it “the longest-sought, hardest-fought prize in the history of arms control.” The U.S. is one of 187 countries that have signed the treaty, and one of only 18 that haven’t ratified it.
Although Russia initially ratified the treaty in 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin revoked the country’s ratification in 2023.
The president also didn’t disclose where the testing would take place, but the last weapons test took place in Nevada.
Over the weekend, Putin announced that Moscow had successfully tested its nuclear-powered missile.
“It is a unique ware which nobody else in the world has,” Putin said.
As of last year, Russia had an estimated 4,300 nuclear warheads in its military stockpile while the U.S. had about 3,700, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Several lawmakers have spoken out against Trump’s decision to resume testing.
“Absolutely not. I’ll be introducing legislation to put a stop to this,” Nevada Democratic Congresswoman Dina Titus said in a social media post.
“The U.S. has not conducted a nuclear test since 1992 and we must not resume. This is a reckless decision that will only make us less safe and lead to a new nuclear arms race,” Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey wrote.
In the wake of Trump’s remarks, China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a Thursday press conference that his country hopes that the U.S. will abide by the treaty and its moratorium on nuclear testing and will “take concrete actions to uphold the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, as well as global strategic balance and stability.”
