Every time President Trump travels on Air Force One, reporters get more access to him than they had to Joe Biden in the entire four years of his administration. Trump is always happy to chat. Today, while talking to reporters, he briefly referred to the possibility of resuming nuclear testing–if they’re doing it, he said, I guess we will have to do it as well.
He referred, evidently, to Russia’s announcement a few days ago that they have successfully tested a nuclear cruise missile and nuclear torpedo.
This prompted hysteria in liberal news outlets. NPR, having consulted “experts,” worries that testing by the U.S. would be destabilizing and could lead to war. They have no problem, of course, with testing by Russia.
It remains to be seen whether Trump will actually order any nuclear tests. There is only one site, in Nevada, where such tests could be carried out. We haven’t tested a nuclear device in more than 30 years, so it may be about time. And in general, Russian provocations should be met on a tit-for-tat basis. Doing otherwise merely encourages them. But, to repeat, whether the U.S. will actually resume nuclear testing, and if so to what extent, is unknown.
UPDATE: I now see that Trump said in a Truth Social post that he has instructed the War Department to begin testing our nuclear weapons “on an equal basis.” So time will tell what that turns out to mean. It will be a while, on any scenario, before any test can actually be carried out.
