Jen Psaki says statements from Trump and Vance about nuclear weapons testing could call America’s capability into question and undermine our strength abroad.
This is an adapted excerpt from the Oct. 30 episode of “The Briefing with Jen Psaki.”
Just before his big meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, Donald Trump made a surprise announcement, writing on Truth Social: “I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump’s announcement came out of nowhere. It’s not even clear what kind of nuclear tests he means — or why it’s so urgent to do them now. When reporters tried to get some clarity from the president, he only seemed to make matters more confusing.The whole point of having a nuclear arsenal is deterrence. Our nuclear strike capacity is what ensures America’s enemies think twice before taking action against us.
“They seem to all be nuclear testing,” Trump said later on Air Force One. “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don’t do testing. We’ve halted it years, many years ago. But with others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also.”
Again, we don’t know what he’s talking about, because the other nuclear superpowers, Russia and China, have not detonated a live nuclear weapon since the 1990s. America itself has not detonated one since 1992 — 33 years ago. It’s also worth noting that, according to the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. has the capability to resume nuclear testing within 24 to 36 months of an order.
So it’s really unclear what exactly is motivating Trump to do this now.
