Following his revelation this week that he was ordering the Pentagon to resume the weapons tests, US President Donald Trump reiterated on Friday that the US would resume nuclear testing.
When asked if he would include the conventional underground nuclear testing that were prevalent during the Cold War, Trump responded indirectly while speaking to reporters in midair on Air Force One.
"You will soon find out." On Air Force One, Trump stated, "But we're going to do some testing, yeah." "It's done in other nations. We will do it if they decide to do it. I won't mention it here.
Trump ordered the Pentagon to start testing US nuclear weapons on an equal footing with China and Russia on Wednesday. The President stated in a Truth Social post that "the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country."
"During my first term in government, this was completed, including a comprehensive repair and renovation of current weapons. I detested having to do it due of the immense destructive power, but I was forced to! China is in third place, well behind Russia, but it will catch up in five years.
Less than an hour before his eagerly awaited trade summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, the announcement was made.
When a reporter questioned Trump about the revelation during his meeting with Xi, he first ignored it. However, when reporters later asked if the news had anything to do with Xi, Trump responded that it "had to do with others."
They all appear to be nuclear tests. The President declared, "We have more nuclear weapons than anyone else. He went on, "We don't do testing, and we stopped doing it many years ago, but I think it's appropriate that we do too."
Since the 1990s, only North Korea has conducted nuclear tests. Nuclear capable weapons, which do not involve detonating actual bombs, have been tested by Russia. As recently as last week, Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has been testing missiles with nuclear warheads.
Between 1945 and 1992, the US carried out 1,054 nuclear tests, the majority of which took place in Nevada, before stopping due to mounting environmental concerns and weariness from the Cold War.
Above ground tests increased hostilities with the Soviet Union during the 1950s. In 1958, President Eisenhower declared a halt to testing, presuming the Soviet Union would do the same, according to Axios.
The US restarted testing in 1961 when the Soviets did. Driven by environmental concerns and the fallout from the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963 to end tests in the atmosphere, space, and underwater.
The 1974 Threshold Test Ban Treaty restricted underground testing to yields of less than 150 kilotons. The current moratorium was established in 1992 when Congress passed a resolution banning underground nuclear testing unless another state carried them out.
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was signed by President Clinton in 1997, but the Senate refused to ratify it due to concerns about national security. As of August 2025, 187 state parties had signed and 178 had ratified the CTBT worldwide.
President Trump is legally permitted to resume nuclear testing since the United States has signed but not ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. His announcement has brought back unpleasant memories of the Cold War era, when thousands of people in the American West were sickened by outdoor explosions. Nevada lawmakers, who hosted hundreds of tests, denounced the plan as a geopolitical provocation that may "lead to World War III" and a public health risk, according to Politico.
Experts contend that since the US has already certified its nuclear weapons as safe through sophisticated simulations and experiments, there is no technical necessity for more testing. The cost of each nuclear test might reach $140 million, and there is a chance that it will rekindle tensions around the world.
However, Trump's supporters say that testing would show strength to Russia and China. Analysts caution that just as important arms control treaties are about to expire, such a move might alienate US allies, erode nuclear restraint, and start a new arms race.
