Trump's Push to Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing Rests on Falsehoods

"This past week, President Donald Trump called on the Department of Defense (DOD) to restart nuclear weapons testing "immediately," citing false claims about other countries' nuclear arsenals and testing. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday and an interview that aired on Sunday, Trump was vague regarding the extent of the future nuclear weapons testing, including whether he would push for actual nuclear explosions. Trump claimed in his social media post that the U.S. has the most nuclear weapons out of every country in the world, followed by Russia and China. This is false - Russia actually has the most nuclear weapons. Trump also claimed that China would reach parity with the U.S. "within 5 years," although nuclear arms experts doubt that China will come anywhere close to possessing the amount of nuclear weapons the U.S. has within the next few years."

""Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War [sic] to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," Trump wrote. "That process will begin immediately." Despite Trump's suggestion that other countries are testing nuclear weapons, only one country, North Korea, has even tested such weapons in the 21st century. Indeed, most countries ended their nuclear weapons testing in the 1990s. (The U.S. suspended tests in 1992.)"

President Donald Trump called on the Department of Defense to restart U.S. nuclear weapons testing immediately, asserting that other countries are testing and closing gaps. He made the claims on Truth Social and in a televised interview while remaining vague about whether tests would involve nuclear detonations. Trump misstated global arsenals by saying the U.S. has the most warheads; Russia holds the largest stockpile. Experts doubt China will reach parity with the U.S. within five years. Only North Korea has conducted nuclear tests in the 21st century, and the U.S. suspended testing in 1992.

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