Trump uncorks startling nuclear bomb order on Truth Social

President Donald Trump uncorked another startling social media post on Wednesday night, alerting the globe that he has ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's department to ramp up testing of nuclear weapons.

Trump took to his Truth Social platform to note that the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country, but warned that its adversaries are catching up.

"This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office," he wrote. "Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years."

Trump then offered an explanation for why he was ordering the Defense Department to ramp up testing of the weapons.

"Because of other countries testing programs, 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 exclaimed.

Notably, the United States has abided by a voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing since 1992, though it has maintained the ability to resume these tests. It has, however, used a program to maintain confidence in the "safety, security, and effectiveness" of its nuclear arsenal. In 2020, Trump administration officials reportedly discussed whether to conduct an explosive test of a nuclear weapon, but both the first Trump administration and subsequent Biden administration abided by the moratorium.

In 2024, the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administrator said the U.S. has "no technical reasons" to conduct nuclear tests.

The U.S. conducted more than 1,000 explosive nuclear tests between 1945 and 1992, with federal lawmakers creating a program to compensate some people whose health may have been affected by nuclear testing.