Trump ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons tests

Donald Trump directed the War Department to resume testing nuclear weapons. Although this practice was discontinued in 1992, the president insisted on the need to resume it in the context of the arms race with China and Russia.

Trump expressed his intentions via his Truth Social account, just minutes before his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in South Korea. In turn, the Republican stressed that the practices would begin "immediately."

"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," he said on his Truth Social account.

"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 president added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the same Wednesday that Moscow had successfully tested a new atomic-powered, nuclear-capable submarine drone.

Robert C. O'Brien, national security adviser during the first Trump administration, wrote an article in 2024 encouraging Trump to conduct such tests should he return to the White House.

"Washington should test for the first time since 1992 the reliability and safety of new nuclear weapons under real conditions, not just by computer modeling," the former official wrote in the magazine Foreign Affairs.