President Donald Trump announced Thursday he has directed the Pentagon to resume nuclear testing “on an equal basis” with Russia and China.
“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 I had no choice!” Trump posted online.
“Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but we will be even within 5 years,” he continued. “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.”
Trump’s message on social media came just before his high-stakes and highly anticipated meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea. The leaders were set to discuss terms of a trade deal that has heightened tensions between the two countries since Trump implemented his tariff agenda.
In his message, Trump offered few details. He did not say whether the U.S. would begin detonating weapons, but his post still marks a significant shift. The military still tests missiles that are capable of delivering nuclear weapons but nothing has been detonated since 1992, The Associated Press noted.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty of 1996 was signed, but not ratified, by the United States. Russia rescinded its ratification in 2023, citing the U.S., but all countries that possess nuclear weapons have observed the ban, besides North Korea.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who accompanied Trump on his trip to Asia, said that it’s “all hands on deck” because the Chinese are building nuclear plants.
“They’re starting them up every month, and we are behind, but under President Trump’s leadership, we’re going to catch up,” Bessent said.
Russian officials confirmed that if the United States was resuming nuclear tests, Russia would “act accordingly,” the AP reported.
Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, was asked where the tests would occur and said, “It’ll be announced. We have test sites.”
Impacts on the West
From 1945 to 1992, the United States carried out more than 1,000 nuclear explosive tests, but most of them were underground. The U.S. accounts for a large number of the more than 2,000 nuclear test explosions conducted globally since 1945, with Russia close behind, according to the Arms Control Association.
The U.S. conducted the first test of an atomic bomb in Alamogordo, New Mexico, in 1945 during World War II, later called the Trinity Site. Later testing was also conducted in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The last tests at the Carlsbad sites in 1962 were the last ones that produced aboveground detonations.
Testing also ramped up in Nevada, including at the Nevada Test Site about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It was the site of 928 tests until the last full weapons test in 1992.
After the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, nuclear test detonations were conducted deep underground. Tests took place in other locations in Nevada, Mississippi, Alaska, and multiple sites in Colorado near the Utah border.
Research has found that the nuclear testing in Nevada contributed to increased mortality and cancer mortality.
Trump’s announcement has drawn criticism from experts and could spark concern from those in the areas impacted by testing.
Daryl Kimball, the director of the Arms Control Association, said the president is “misinformed and out of touch,” noting that there is no reason for the U.S. to resume nuclear explosive testing. Kimball also said it would take 36 months for testing to resume at the former underground test site in Nevada.
“By foolishly announcing his intention (to) resume nuclear testing, Trump will trigger strong public opposition in Nevada, from all U.S. allies, and it could trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by U.S. adversaries, and blow apart the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,” Kimball wrote online.
Trump’s post was unclear what kind of nuclear testing he wanted the Pentagon to begin, but he told reporters on Air Force One that it has to do with others who “all seem to be doing nuclear testing.”
He said the U.S. has more nuclear weapons than anyone and doesn’t do testing, “but with others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also.” However, the AP noted that Trump may be conflating the testing of missiles that deliver a nuclear warhead with the actual testing of the warheads.
The Deseret News has reached out to the Pentagon for more information.