President Donald Trump announced that he has directed the Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons immediately, saying the move is needed to keep pace with “other countries’ testing programs.”
The announcement came through a brief post on Truth Social, where Trump offered few details about what kind of tests would be conducted or when they would begin. It remains unclear whether he meant actual nuclear detonations or non-explosive tests of delivery systems.
The statement comes just before Trump’s expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which led to an agreement to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports. His comments mark a major shift from decades of U.S. policy that has avoided live nuclear testing. The United States last conducted such a test in 1992, when then-President George H. W. Bush established a moratorium following the end of the Cold War.
Trump’s remarks also contained several inaccuracies. He claimed the United States has the largest nuclear arsenal, when in fact Russia holds that title. According to the United Nations, no country except North Korea has carried out confirmed nuclear tests since the 1990s. The United States remains a signatory to the international treaty banning nuclear tests, though it has never officially ratified it.
If Trump’s directive moves forward, it would represent a significant break from global nuclear nonproliferation efforts and could provoke widespread international concern.
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