President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to suggest that the United States might resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in three decades, saying it would be done on an “equal basis” with Russia and China.
The comment, made minutes before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, marks a potential shift in long-standing U.S. nuclear policy. However, Trump provided no clear details, and there was no indication the U.S. planned to detonate warheads.
“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “That process will begin immediately.”
The White House did not respond to requests for clarification, and Trump avoided questions about the statement during his meeting with Xi. Later, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he appeared to blur the distinction between testing nuclear missiles and detonating nuclear warheads.
“I see them testing and I say, well, if they’re going to test, I guess we have to test,” Trump said, without specifying when or where such tests would occur.
The U.S. has not conducted nuclear detonations since 1992, though it routinely tests missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Pentagon officials did not immediately comment on the president’s statement.
Trump’s remarks came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced tests of a nuclear-powered cruise missile and an underwater drone, but no actual nuclear detonations. Trump did not reference those developments directly, though he compared the nuclear stockpiles of the three powers, saying, “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.”
The U.S. signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996 but never ratified it. Russia withdrew its ratification in 2023, saying it wanted parity with Washington and would only resume tests if the U.S. did so first.
Despite the apparent escalation, Trump told reporters he still favored “denuclearization and de-escalation,” adding, “We are actually talking to Russia about that,” without elaborating further.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, criticized the president’s remarks, calling him “misinformed and out of touch.”
“By announcing his intention to resume nuclear testing, Trump risks triggering public backlash in Nevada, opposition from U.S. allies, and a dangerous chain reaction of nuclear testing worldwide,” Kimball wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Source: AP