‘Let it be an arms race’: Donald Trump doubles down on call for US to expand nuclear capacity despite condemnation
Experts reacted with alarm at the prospect of nuclear escalation and bewilderment at Trump’s seemingly offhand remark
US president-elect Donald Trump has doubled down on his call, via Twitter, for his country to “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability”, which triggered a wave of anxiety and scathing criticism among non-proliferation experts.
“Let it be an arms race,” Trump reportedly told MSNBC on Friday when asked to clarify his remarks. “We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.”
On Thursday, Trump tweeted: “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”
Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all
Experts reacted with alarm at the prospect of a nuclear arms race and bewilderment at Trump’s seemingly offhand remark.
“It is completely irresponsible for the president-elect or the president to make changes to US nuclear policy in 140 characters and without understanding the implications of statements like ‘expand the capacity’,” said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, a leading proponent of arms control based in Washington. “He must have leaders around the world trying to guess what he means. This is bush league.”
Trump’s “farcical” tweet failed to communicate a “rational deterrence policy”, said Miles Pomper, Senior Fellow at the Washington-based Centre for Non-Proliferation Studies.
The US needs to do more to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the wrong hands, rather than creating more materials, Pomper said.