“I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons,” Pres. Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday night, shortly before his first face-to-face meeting in six years with China Pres.
Xi Jinping. He said “that process will begin immediately,” saying the reasoning for the move is because other countries are testing their own nuclear programs.
The U.S. conducted its last nuclear weapons test in Nevada in 1992. President George H.W. Bush then imposed a moratorium on testing in the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.
China has not tested a nuclear weapon since 1996, although it has rapidly expanded its nuclear arsenal in recent years. Russia — formerly the Soviet Union — hasn’t carried out such a test since 1990, though Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday his country had tested a new nuclear-powered drone, which came shortly after a test of a new nuclear-capable and powered cruise missile.