Trump Asserts US Has Nukes to Destroy World 150 Times, Pushes for Global Denuclearization
US President Donald Trump has defended his call to resume nuclear weapons testing, asserting that America’s arsenal could potentially destroy the world 150 times. During a CBS interview, Trump emphasized the need for testing to ensure the reliability of the nuclear stockpile, stating the US is the only nation not conducting such tests. He also called for global denuclearization, claiming that other nations like Russia and China are secretly testing despite historical evidence to the contrary.
The US last conducted a full-scale nuclear explosion in 1992, and resuming such tests would likely take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to The Washington Post. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified on Sunday that the testing ordered by Trump would not involve actual nuclear detonations.
“These are what we call non-critical tests,” Wright told Fox News, describing them as part of a broader modernization program. “No worries about [a mushroom cloud],” he added, when asked about the possibility of atmospheric or underground blasts.
Despite Trump’s claim that Russia and China are secretly conducting tests, both countries’ last confirmed nuclear detonations occurred decades ago — Russia’s in 1990 and China’s in 1996.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that Russia’s recent trials of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon underwater drone did not involve nuclear explosions. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia would only “act accordingly” if other nuclear powers resumed testing.
China’s Foreign Ministry also urged the US to honor its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and to maintain the global moratorium on nuclear testing.
Vice President J.D. Vance and several Republican lawmakers have supported Trump’s initiative, arguing that non-detonative testing is necessary to ensure the reliability of America’s aging nuclear arsenal.
“We have more nuclear weapons than any other country. And I think we should do something about denuclearization,” Trump added. “We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot.”