US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to resume nuclear testing, arguing that Washington cannot remain the only power showing restraint while Russia, China, and North Korea continue their weapons programs, even as he acknowledged the United States already possesses enough arms “to blow up the world 150 times."
In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, the Republican leader said the US “cannot be the only country that doesn’t carry out tests" despite its vast nuclear stockpile.
Hours before his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump posted on Truth Social, directing the Department of Defence to begin nuclear testing “immediately."
Defending his stance during the interview, Trump cited nuclear activity by China, Russia, and North Korea.
“We have more nuclear weapons than any other country. And I think we should do something about denuclearisation. I discussed that with both President Putin and President Xi. 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," Trump said.
He added that the US should not be the only nation refraining from tests.
“You know, you do have to—and the reason I’m saying testing is because Russia announced they were going to do a test. North Korea’s testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We’re the only country that doesn’t test, and I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test," he said.
Trump’s post came shortly after reports that Russia had tested its “unlimited-range" Burevestnik missile.
The president also said the US was an “open society" that discussed such matters transparently.
“We’re different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to report — they don’t have reporters writing about it. We do," he added.
Trump’s call to restart nuclear testing, three decades after the last US test, has drawn scepticism on Capitol Hill. His nominee to head the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), Vice Admiral Richard Correll, told lawmakers that neither China nor Russia had conducted nuclear explosive tests recently.
“I believe the quote was, ‘start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis.’ Neither China nor Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test, so I’m not reading anything into it," Correll said.
Source: News18