While heading back from his recent trip to Asia, President Donald Trump stunned everyone by announcing that he wanted to start testing nuclear weapons again because countries like China and Russia were secretly testing theirs.
During Trump’s 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, he doubled down on that stance.
While many questioned Trump’s statement, the CIA and the Senate Intel Committee chair are backing his assertion.
After Trump made his post on the topic, I stated that this would not be easy for the president to pull off.
Then he doubled down during the recent interview on CBS. Norah O’Donnell asked him why we needed to start testing again, and Trump replied, “Well, because you have to see how they work. You know, you do have to -- and the reason I'm saying -- testing is because Russia announced that they were going to be doing a test.”
He continued, “If you notice, North Korea's testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We're the only country that doesn't test, and I want to be— I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test.”
Again, though, just because Trump says it will happen does not mean it will. He will need congressional approval for his plan, and he will likely have to prove to lawmakers that testing by other countries is indeed taking place. There is also the problem of public perception, as a single test is likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and that does not even take into account the dangers involved with such an endeavor.
Trump claimed that countries like China and Russia are testing their weapons secretly, likely underground, but China has already denied the allegation.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated, “As a responsible nuclear-weapon state, China is committed to peaceful development, follows a policy of ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy that focuses on self-defense, and adheres to its nuclear testing moratorium.”
But again, just because China says it is not testing, it does not make it so. Testing would be a violation of the moratorium that has been in place for decades.
So far, Russia has not responded to Trump's claim.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) have both since come forward to back Trump’s allegations regarding nuclear testing.
Ratcliffe confirmed that Trump “is right” on X, and Cotton also agreed, stating, “After consultations with Director Ratcliffe and his team, they have confirmed to me that the CIA assesses that both Russia and China have conducted super-critical nuclear weapons tests in excess of the U.S. zero-yield standard. These tests are not historic and are part of their nuclear modernization programs.”
The last nuclear test conducted in this country was more than three decades ago, as this was a major issue during the Clinton administration.
Some believe that Trump may be mistaking the testing of the delivery system for tests of actual warheads. I can tell you this… There will be significant resistance from Democrats in states like Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, all areas that feature desert areas where this testing would be done. This issue is far from decided, but it will undoubtedly make for an interesting election-time discussion.
