President Trump and one of his top cabinet officials are sending mixed messages on how the U.S. government is handling the most destructive weapons in the world.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the testing ordered up in a surprise announcement by President Trump last week would focus on “the other parts” of nuclear weaponry.
President Trump explained the order by saying other, unnamed nations were testing their own nuclear weapons, even though no country has tested since 2017.
The president’s ambiguity on nuclear testing is worrisome not only because America’s public can’t know what he means, but because America’s adversaries don’t.
Just minutes before he was scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping of China, the president threatened on social media to resume nuclear testing “on an equal basis” with other countries.
The two leaders reached an agreement on fentanyl, some tariffs and rare earths, at least for a year. But even as the global trade picture cleared a little, Mr. Trump spurred new worries about nuclear proliferation.
Login
