Washington – Former President Donald Trump expressed on Thursday his desire to resume discussions about nuclear arms control with Russia and China. He hopes that over time, the three nations can agree to cut their vast defense budgets by half.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump highlighted concerns over the substantial amounts of money being invested in the U.S. nuclear deterrent system. He stressed the need for commitments from these nations to also reduce their military spending.
“There’s no reason for us to be building entirely new nuclear weapons when we already have so many,” Trump stated. “We could destroy the world multiple times over. Yet here we are, developing new nuclear arsenal while they’re doing the same.”
He added, “We’re all spending a lot of money that we could invest in other areas that could hopefully be much more productive.”
While noting that the U.S. and Russia hold massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons from the Cold War, Trump warned that China could acquire similar destructive capabilities in “the next five or six years.”
He pointed out that if nuclear weapons were ever used, it would likely lead to catastrophic consequences. Trump mentioned that he would seek to engage in nuclear conversations with China and Russia after the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine has been addressed.
“One of the first meetings I want to arrange is with President Xi of China and President Putin of Russia. I want to propose, ‘Let’s reduce our military budgets by half.’ I believe we can achieve this,” he remarked.
During his first term, Trump attempted to bring China into discussions on nuclear arms reductions while the U.S. and Russia were negotiating an extension of the New START treaty. However, Russia halted its participation during President Biden’s administration, while both the U.S. and Russia continue large-scale programs to maintain or replace their aging nuclear arsenals.
