Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. needs to test its nuclear arsenal to ensure it "functions properly," a day after President Donald Trump said he instructed the Department of War to start testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis to China and Russia.
"We have a big arsenal. Obviously, the Russians have a large nuclear arsenal. The Chinese have a large nuclear arsenal. Sometimes you need to test it to make sure its functioning and working properly," Vance told reporters at the White House on Thursday when asked about Trump's social media post on ordering nuclear tests.
"We've been working very closely, even with nations that we don't have the best relations with to try to limit nuclear proliferation.
"The president is going to keep working on that."
"It's an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly, and that's part of a testing regime," Vance added.
"To be clear, we know that it does work properly but you have to keep on top of it over time and the president just wants to make sure that we do that."
He added that the president's statement "speaks for itself."
Trump in a Truth Social post said the United States "has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country.
"This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. 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 later told reporters aboard Air Force One that his order "had to do with others," adding that "they seem to all be nuclear testing."
"We don't do testing. We've halted it years, many years ago. But with others doing testing, I think it's appropriate that we do also," Trump said after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The last confirmed nuclear test by the United States was in 1992 under President George H.W. Bush.
Russia on Thursday said it had not tested nuclear weapons recently, but it would if the U.S. did.
"Trump mentioned in his statement that other countries were allegedly testing nuclear weapons. Until now, we were not aware that anyone was testing anything," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
"And if the Burevestnik test is somehow being referred to, it is in no way a nuclear test," he added.
"All countries are developing their defense systems, but this is not a nuclear test."
Russia last week tested its nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable Burevestnik missile.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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