President Donald Trump defended his call to for the U.S. to restart nuclear weapons testing, saying Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes” he doesn’t want the country to be the only one not testing its arsenal.
Trump directed the Department of War (DOW) to resume nuclear testing in a Wednesday Truth Social post only hours before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping during his three-day Asia trip. Noting the timing, CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell asked Trump to clarify his orders.
“Well, we have more nuclear weapons than any other country. I think we should do something about denuclearization and I did actually discuss 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; they have some, they have quite a bit,” Trump said.
When pressed by O’Donnell on why testing the weapons was necessary, Trump noted the U.S. needs to see how they function. (RELATED: ‘What Happens In Nevada’: Democrats Can’t Stop Ranting About Trump’s Nuclear Weapons Move While Shutdown Rages)
“Well because you have to see how they work, you know, you do have to. The reason I’m saying ‘testing’ is because Russia announced that they were going to be doing a test. If you notice — North Korea is 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,” Trump responded.
WATCH:
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday that Russia tested its nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable underwater torpedo, the Poseidon, the day prior. The weapon is designed to travel intercontinentally and could create “radioactive tsunamis” if detonated near coastlines. Putin said it was the first time Russia had both launched the torpedo from a carrier submarine and activated its nuclear power unit for a sustained period.
O’Donnell then asked Trump why it would be necessary to test the weapons. The president simply confirmed the U.S. will “test nuclear weapons like other countries do.” The host pushed back, saying North Korea is the only country currently testing, but Trump countered, arguing both Russia and China are also testing, but U.S. reporters are just unaware of it.
“That would be certainly very newsworthy. My understanding is what Russia did recently was test essentially the delivery systems for nuclear weapons, essentially missiles, which we can do that. But not with nuclear— ” O’Donnell said before Trump jumped in.
“Russia’s testing and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we’re a [sic] open society,” Trump pushed back. “We’re different, we talk about it. We have to talk about it because otherwise you people are gonna report they don’t have reporters who are gonna be writing about it. We do.”
The Pentagon warned in 2022 China was accelerating its nuclear weapons program, with its stockpile of 400 warheads reportedly on track to reach 1,500 by 2035. In response to Trump’s announcement to restart testing, Chinese spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing hopes the U.S. will abide by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the moratorium on nuclear tests, according to Newsweek.
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