Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Trump directs Pentagon to begin nuclear weapons testing matching Russia and China — Donald Trump posted on Truth Social instructing the Department of War to immediately begin testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis with Russia and China, citing their testing programs as justification. The announcement came less than an hour before Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea to discuss a trade war truce. Trump falsely claimed the US has more nuclear weapons than any other country. Pentagon officials did not immediately respond. Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus announced plans to introduce legislation to stop the testing.
• Russia denies nuclear weapons testing and warns of retaliation — Russia issued a statement denying that it has tested nuclear weapons, contradicting claims made by Trump. Russia warned that it will begin nuclear weapons testing if the United States does so, escalating nuclear rhetoric and raising the stakes for potential weapons testing by either power.
• Trump orders Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing — Minutes before his meeting with Xi Jinping, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had instructed the Department of War to begin nuclear weapons testing "on an equal basis" with China and Russia, citing other countries' testing programs as justification. He did not respond to reporter questions about the decision during the summit.
• Trump announced resumption of nuclear weapons testing for the first time in 33 years. — Trump announced that the United States will resume testing nuclear weapons, instructing the Department of War to begin testing on an "equal basis" with other nations. Trump claimed Russia and China are conducting nuclear tests and that the U.S. must respond in kind. A nuclear proliferation expert stated that no nation except North Korea has tested nuclear weapons since the 1990s and that Trump's characterization of U.S. and Russian stockpile sizes was factually incorrect.
• Trump administration announced plans to resume nuclear weapons testing — Trump announced that the administration plans to resume nuclear weapons testing. When questioned about the announcement, Trump stated that the Pentagon should conduct the testing, though the Department of Energy is the actual agency responsible for nuclear weapons testing operations.