While President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would “like to see denuclearization,” his comment came on the heels of an announcement calling for nuclear testing to ramp up in the U.S.
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” the president said in a Wednesday Truth Social post. “That process will begin immediately.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared the post on X. Trump also said in the post that the U.S. “has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” followed by Russia, with China in a distant third.
“This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice!” Trump continued.
He was in Asia to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders at the time when he posted the message.
Multiple estimates indicate that Russia actually has the most nuclear weapons worldwide. International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) estimates showed that Russia had an estimated 5,449 compared to the U.S.’ 5,227. An estimate from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) updated this March indicated that Russia had 4,309 and was increasing its stockpile, while the U.S. had an estimated 3,700 and was decreasing its stockpile.
Combined, the two countries are estimated to control around 87% of the globe’s nuclear weapons. Just one of these weapons could destroy a city and most of its people, ICAN warns.
According to the FAS, there has been “progress in reducing nuclear weapon arsenals since the Cold War,” but “the world’s combined inventory of nuclear warheads remains at a very high level: nine countries possessed roughly 12,241 warheads as of the beginning of 2025.”
It also noted that “the exact number of nuclear weapons in each country’s possession is a closely held national secret, so the estimates presented here come with significant uncertainty.” For example, it said the U.S. disclosed its total stockpile size from 2010 through 2018. In 2019, during Trump’s first term in office, his administration stopped that practice. Former President Joe Biden’s administration started it again in 2020 but then “declined to declassify any U.S. stockpile data for 2021, 2022, or 2023,” FAS said.
PBS said this week that the U.S. military already regularly tests its missiles that are capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, though it has not reportedly detonated weapons since 1992. Four years later, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) ban on all nuclear test explosions was opened for signature. Per PBS’ report, the U.S. signed the treaty but did not ratify.
It “has been observed since its adoption by all countries possessing nuclear weapons, North Korea being the only exception,” the outlet added.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Thursday that he wasn’t able to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his recent trip to Asia. He said this trip was mostly focused on China and that he would come back to speak with Kim, who “rolled out his nuclear-armed military’s most powerful weapons,” during a military parade earlier this month, according to the Associated Press.
“I’d come back, with respect to Kim Jong Un,” said Trump, who added that the two have had a “great relationship” in the past and that Kim “doesn’t like too many people other than me.”
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin has also hinted at nuclear war in recent years, as Russia continues an invasion of Ukraine. Since that invasion started, the U.S. has supported Ukraine with money and weapons.
PBS said in its report that the “Kremlin warns that Russia will respond in kind if nuclear tests are resumed,” and that, when asked about Trump’s comments “Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reaffirmed an earlier warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said Moscow would resume nuclear tests if others do so first.”
NBC News also noted that “Russia announced a test of a new long-range nuclear-powered underwater weapon Wednesday and recently tested a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile.”
However, the American Legion said Thursday that neither the U.S. nor Russia and China have conducted nuclear testing (which typically refers to the intentional detonation of a nuclear weapon, not testing of a nuclear-powered weapon) for decades, largely a result of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
“A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to an email requesting additional information on Thursday,” said the American Legion. “A recorded message at the White House switchboard said it is not accepting calls during the government shutdown.”
In the U.S. Democrats have bristled at Trump’s call for more nuclear testing.
“This directly contradicts the commitments I secured from Trump nominees – and the opinion of Administration officials who certify our nuclear stockpile – who’ve told me explosive nuclear testing would not happen & is unnecessary. I’ll fight to stop this,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) in an X post.
“This is a reckless decision that will only make us less safe and lead to a new nuclear arms race,” said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on X.
This January, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists already warned that its Doomsday Clock had slipped to 89 seconds to midnight. That means it estimates that we are closer to human extinction than we have ever been in the 78-year history of the clock.
“The countries that possess nuclear weapons are increasing the size and role of their arsenals, investing hundreds of billions of dollars in weapons that can destroy civilization,” said the bulletin. “The nuclear arms control process is collapsing, and high-level contacts among nuclear powers are totally inadequate given the danger at hand. Alarmingly, it is no longer unusual for countries without nuclear weapons to consider developing arsenals of their own – actions that would undermine longstanding nonproliferation efforts and increase the ways in which nuclear war could start.”
Trump told reporters Thursday that he is interested in speaking with Russia and China about denuclearization, and he’s previously mentioned possibly pursuing a nuclear deal with Iran. When asked if he thinks we are entering a riskier environment when it comes to nuclear issues, the president said: “No, I don’t think so. I think we have it pretty well locked up.”