In a statement that brought back the rhetoric of Cold War nuclear balances, Donald Trump reiterated that the United States will proceed with nuclear tests “if other countries do, too,” opening a new cycle of global security concern.

“We will do some testing, yes – other countries are doing it too. If they’re going to do it, we’re going to do it“, Trump told reporters, answering a question from AFP, aboard Air Force One.

President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would resume nuclear testing contained inaccuracies, however, raising uncertainty about Washington’s intentions.

The rhetoric around nuclear is closely watched by governments and analysts, as it can cause serious consequences. Trump’s sudden post on Truth Social sparked strong reactions in Moscow and Beijing within hours.

Trump began his announcement by claiming that the US has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, when in fact, Russia has the largest reserve.

He also claimed that the modernization of US nuclear weapons is complete, when in fact it is still in progress.

As for China, he said it would catch up to the US “within five years” with experts, however, disagreeing. John Wolfsthal, director of the global risk program at the Federation of American Scientists, stressed that while Beijing’s arsenal is “growing faster than in the past,” it is “not an immediate problem for the US.”

“By no account can China be considered to be on the same level as the US“, he added.

At the sharpest point of his post, Trump declared that “because other countries are testing, I have directed the Department of War to begin testing our nuclear weapons on an equal footing. The process will begin immediately.” However, his administration did not provide any clarification on what exactly the president meant by this statement.

The United States has not conducted a nuclear test in decades. Instead, what seems to have caught Donald Trump’s attention was a recent Russian test of an ultra-long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Frank Rose, former deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and US undersecretary of state for arms control, told Axios that “I have not seen any technical reason that warrants the need for a nuclear test.”

He added that if he was advising the president, he would tell him: “Mr. President, you must fully understand the global implications of such a decision. If there is a technical issue that requires testing, that’s another matter, but we have to be careful for geopolitical reasons as well.”

According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), nine countries including China, France, India, North Korea and the United Kingdom have a total of about 12,240 nuclear warheads.

Russia and the United States control 90% of this arsenal.

The rapid development of China’s nuclear program, albeit on a smaller scale, has led hawks in Washington to call for an expansion of US nuclear capabilities.

Modernization of America’s nuclear arsenal began before Trump and remains complex and expensive.

Programs like the Sentinel missile face delays and cost overrunswhile the Cold War-era infrastructure at NNSA centers has deteriorated significantly.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the combined Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear programs for 2025–2034 are $946 billion.

The Kremlin has denied Donald Trump’s claim that Russia has resumed nuclear tests, but made clear it would do so if the United States did too.