‘Enough to blow up world 150 times’: Is Trump really planning to restart US nuclear testing?

'They don't talk about it': Trump says Russia, China conducted secret underground nuclear tests

US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his intention to restart nuclear testing in the United States, citing the nuclear ambitions of Russia and China as key reasons behind the move. He suggested that, despite the US already possessing enough weapons to “blow up” dozens of countries, renewed testing is necessary to match the actions of its rivals.

Trump, speaking to CBS’s 60 Minutes, claimed that Moscow and Beijing continue testing their nuclear arsenals but do not disclose such activities publicly.

"We have more nuclear weapons than any other country. And I think we should do something about denuclearization. And I did actually discuss that with both President Putin and President Xi," Trump said.

"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 told CBS.

He added that the US should not be the only country to refrain from testing. "You know, you do have to, and the reason I'm saying, testing is because Russia announced that they were going to be doing a test. If you notice, North Korea's 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," he said.

The president also argued that the US conducts its affairs transparently, unlike its rivals. "We're different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to report, they don't have reporters that going to be writing about it. We do," Trump said.

US nuclear test 

The last US nuclear test took place in September 1992 under Operation Julin, a series of seven underground tests that preceded the negotiation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes and has been signed by 187 countries, though the United States remains a signatory without having ratified it.

When asked whether upcoming tests might include traditional underground detonations, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “You'll find out very soon. But we're going to do some testing, yeah. Other countries do it. If they’re going to do it, we’re going to do it. I’m not going to say here.”

Wright emphasized that the U.S. can now simulate nuclear explosions with high precision, thanks to advancements in computational power. "With our science and our computation power, we can simulate incredibly accurately exactly what will happen in a nuclear explosion," he said. "Now we simulate what were the conditions that delivered that, and as we change bomb designs, what will they deliver?"

In essence, while Trump’s announcement stirred concern over a potential end to the US moratorium on nuclear testing, officials later clarified that the administration’s plans currently involve non-explosive system checks, not live detonations.