Trump indicated this decision was prompted by the testing activities of other nations.
Photo : AP
US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will begin testing the nation’s nuclear weapons immediately. In a post on social media platform X, Trump boasted how the United States possesses “more nuclear weapons than any other country”, way ahead of Russia and China, and said that based on testing programs of others, he was instructing the Department of War to start testing their assets on an equal basis.
“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,” Trump said in a post on X.
“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. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.
Notably, Russia recently tested two nuclear-powered strategic weapons — the 9M730 Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon underwater drone — described by Moscow as capable of carrying nuclear payloads over long ranges. Putin personally oversaw these tests, which were described by Trump as “inappropriate.”
Trump’s China mention ahead of meeting with Xi
At a dinner on Wednesday night with other APEC leaders, Trump was caught on a microphone saying the meeting with Xi would be “three, four hours” and he would then go home to Washington.
Officials from both countries met earlier this week in Kuala Lumpur to lay the groundwork for their leaders in a bid to roll back months of trade tensions.