Approximately an hour before his in South Korea on Thursday, the U.S. President issued his most recent social media message, which appeared to be primarily directed at Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
On around 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, Donald Trump cautioned that the U.S. possesses “tremendous destructive power” regarding nuclear weapons. He declared, “Due to other countries’ testing programs,” he announced, “I have instructed the Department of War to commence testing our Nuclear Weapons symmetrically. That process will begin immediately.”
Trump’s statement followed Russia’s recent disclosure of having performed multiple tests of nuclear “superweapons,” including an designed to avoid interception and generate a potentially devastating tsunami at its target.
Putin stated on Wednesday, “Regarding speed and operational depth, this unmanned vehicle is unmatched globally, and it is improbable that any comparable system will emerge in the foreseeable future.”
The previous week, Putin lauded the successful trial of an “unlimited-range” nuclear-powered missile, also characterizing it as a “unique weapon that no other country possesses.” Trump Putin at the time, stating it was not an “appropriate” topic for Putin, who “ought to get the war ended,” in reference to Russia’s continuing war of invasion against Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Trump further cautioned that the U.S. “tests missiles continually” and possesses “a nuclear submarine, the world’s finest, positioned directly off [Russia’s] coast, eliminating the need to travel 8,000 miles.”
In his most recent Truth Social post, Trump erroneously asserted that the U.S. “has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country.” However, show that Russia continues to lead in nuclear warhead inventories.
China , but its most recent nuclear test was performed in 1996.
The resumption of nuclear weapons testing would be a momentous event for the U.S., which .
All three geopolitical powers are signatories of the , which forbids parties from “carry[ing] out any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion,” though the U.S. and China have not ratified it. Russia initially ratified the treaty in 2000, but it in 2023 to match the U.S.’ status.
North Korea stands as the sole nation confirmed to have performed tests involving nuclear explosives during the 21st century, despite other nuclear powers persisting in testing delivery systems for such weapons.
Trump’s intention to resume the tests is already encountering domestic political opposition. Rep. Dina Titus (D, Nev.) in response to the news: “Absolutely not. I’ll be introducing legislation to put a stop to this.”
