Public sentiment is overwhelmingly negative regarding the decision to resume nuclear testing, with fears about escalating military tensions and the potential for an arms race. Many comments highlight frustrations over the perceived recklessness of leadership, question the strategic necessity for such tests, and express concerns about environmental impacts and financial waste. A strong undercurrent of skepticism towards government actions is evident, along with pleas for diplomatic restraint and peace.

Donald Trump

U.S. Government

International Community

This isn’t about physics. It’s about optics and leverage.

When politicians talk about “modernizing” the nuclear stockpile, it’s rarely because the weapons stopped working. The U.S. has already invested billions in simulation tech and supercomputing to verify reliability without detonations. The science is fine. What’s really happening is performance art for power.

The “testing” narrative plays well to three audiences:

1. Adversaries: a reminder that America still has the biggest stick.


2. Domestic voters: a show of toughness and nostalgia for Cold War dominance.


3. The defense industry : who never met a new program they didn’t like.



But it’s strategically lazy. Nuclear testing doesn’t pressure China or Russia  it licenses them. The minute the U.S. lights up the desert again, both nations can claim moral cover to accelerate their own programs. That’s not deterrence  that’s escalation theater.

You can call it “madman theory,” but it’s really brand strategy masquerading as statecraft.
It signals volatility, not strength. It alienates allies who count on U.S. restraint as part of the value proposition of our leadership.

The most credible power in the modern world isn’t the nation that can make the biggest boom. It’s the one that can show discipline. The U.S. already won the nuclear arms race. The risk now is acting like we forgot.

Ali6952

This is what happens when you elect a weak man who wants to appear strong

fleeter17

There is not a strategic rationale, except to make the President to be seen as more powerful. A real ego stroke.

One of the reasons why supercomputers were initially developed was to end dangerous nuclear testing with computers that could simulate nuclear detonations accurately.

lazygerm

I think a lot of strategies he uses sometimes try to mimic Ronald Reagan. Who although i can’t stand did do some good work on nuclear disarmament!

I don’t think diplomatically this will matter to much

But this shit is going to wreak havoc on the environment, and raise tensions. Making it harder to negotiate arm control agreements, which i would totally support not wasting money on nukes since we are all screwed if they are used.

Ill_Pride5820

It's completely fucking nuts.  Putin said something about testing a couple weeks ago to distract from something, and Trump wants to be like his "buddy."

gsfgf

It’s from Trump, so there’s no strategic rationale, nor is it credible.

LomentMomentum

Exploding nuclear weapons does nothing to scare anyone, anywhere. This is the same as Trump wanting live shelling bombardment of the California coast to chest beat about his grand weapons.

The Kim family does this to get attention, if the  USA needs to do the same, it's a confirmation of an inadequate standing.

ritzcrv

Guess they'll need to make a new calibration curve for carbon dating...

GroundedSatellite

Testing a few bombs can have some practical reasons. Anything beyond that is as reasonable as a dick measuring contest. 


Just ask yourself, what does a bigger boom get you? If you need to chop off the head of leadership, you're better off focusing on bunk busters and drones. Fat boy and little man on NY would still be enough to effectively take it out of commission. Never mind the improvements we've made on nukes since then.

Sageblue32

Edward Teller might just spring out of his grave at the opportunity!

GeoffSobering

AlmightyBlobby

It’s nothing but tough guy posturing. Everyone but trump and his moron followers know that this is stupid.

frozenhawaiian

"Strategic Rationale" is a funny way to spell worsening dementia lol

DataCassette

Who cares? They will never be used. Another waste of taxpayers money.

Character-Boot-2149

It is strategicwlly designed to get you to stop talk8ng about the Epsteonfiles

Rich_Grand4485

I was assuming this would mean underground nuclear tests, not above ground. Which isn't great, but not so bad. Or is the Cheeto here for the big photo op?

MarpasDakini

It’s a nuclear military parade that will cost billions.  We are beyond Idiocracy.

Kastikar

It’s too stupid for words which is why the idiot in the White House stated it.

Ornery-Ticket834

I don't regard anything said by this regime as credible.  trump and his allies lie like they breathe and respond to being called out for it with a firehose of additional lies.   So we'll have to see what trump actually does and infer what we can of a motive from that.

The thing that concerns me the most in this is trump's sudden interest in nukes.

trump is a very, very damaged person - malignant narcissist is the most common diagnosis, but he clearly has some kind of personality disorder.  That's been evident for decades.  

trump is also dying from what we can see and whatever the dementia hasn't chewed up knows this.  He also, at least theoretically, has the power to take everyone in the world with him and knows this too.  

So when he starts talking about letting off nukes, even in the context of testing, it makes me more than a little nervous.  I'm resigned to the end of the earth as a human-habitable planet (maybe at the poles?) - but really wanted that to come after I die.

skoomaking4lyfe

I dont know if I’d even describe it as “strategic rationale.”

The current president (and some major figures within his administration) views the world as one big dick-measuring contest. His decisions aren’t guided by pragmatism nor principle, but one simple question: “Will this make me look tough?”

Tygonol

This is all about trump swinging his dick about. There is no logic or reason.

VanX2Blade

The irony of this? Obama got his Nobel Peace Prize for pushing non-nuclear proliferation. Trump says crap like this and can't figure out why he didn't get a prize himself.

SageoftheForlornPath

shouldhavekeptgiles

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/22/1158529106/nuclear-treaty-new-start-putin

all the treaties are old and broken. no better time than the present to negotiate a new one. 

reddit will do the usual routine of melting down, crashing out, pretending that didn't happen, pretending they never cared, and finally that everything is just as bad if not worse.

tianavitoli

Most relevant excerpt:

&gt;Although a full-scale nuclear detonation would be "complementary" to current experiments, "our assessment is that there are no system questions that would be answered by a test, that would be worth the expense and the effort and the time," Don Haynes, a nuclear weapons scientist from Los Alamos National Laboratory told NPR as they walked through the tunnels.

&gt;Indeed Hinderstein says, preparing for a nuclear test is no small matter. While a basic demonstration test could be done in approximately 18 months. Conducting a test that would produce scientifically useful data would likely take years.

Exzelzior

I feel like this would unfortunately lead to more trepidation towards nuclear power, which I think is a bigger deal right now than signaling to Russia. Not saying the animosity would make sense, but we need people to associate nuclear power with energy, not bombs, if we want to really achieve clean energy.

ThatPeskyPangolin

President Trump announced that the United States plans to resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in decades, citing recent tests by other nations as justification. Experts warn that this decision could significantly destabilize the current global nuclear balance and mark a major escalation in international tensions. The only site capable of hosting such a test is the Nevada National Security Site, located about 60 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Historically, tests there were conducted underground to minimize radioactive fallout, but experts caution that even underground detonations carry seismic and contamination risks that could affect nearby cities, including Las Vegas. The U.S. has not conducted a nuclear test since 1992, relying instead on simulations and scientific experiments to ensure the reliability of its nuclear arsenal.

Trump’s comments follow reports of Russia testing new nuclear-powered weapons, including a cruise missile and an underwater drone, moves viewed as highly provocative with the last major nuclear treaty between the U.S. and Russia nearing expiration. While Trump did not mention Russia directly, his remarks suggested that these developments influenced his decision. Analysts argue that resuming testing could reignite an arms race reminiscent of the Cold War and would do little to strengthen U.S. security. Critics also highlight the enormous financial and political costs involved, with each test potentially costing over $100 million. Many experts maintain that the U.S. has little to gain from restarting nuclear tests, while other nations could benefit more from the technological and strategic advances such testing might yield.

Do y’all think we should restart nuclear testing in response to Russia? What are y’all’s thoughts on nuclear weapons as a deterrent in the first place? Would love to hear y’all’s thoughts!

Numerous-Chocolate15

I’m old enough to remember the right saying how Biden was going to cause a nuclear war by helping Ukraine. Now silence from those same people.

gayfrogs4alexjones

&gt; "All of these big high-rises — including Stratosphere, including the Trump Hotel," she said. "They're not designed for massive, significant seismic activity."

This lady is doing her best to communicate the only thing he cares about - How it hurts him personally.

jupiterslament

My first impression is this is one of those times Trump threatens to do soemthing nobody wants him to do in order to gain concessions.

HoorayItsKyle

I'm not a nuclear scientist, but isn't this purely for optics? At this point, the science of nuclear detonations is fairly well-understood, so an inexpensive (and safe) computer simulation should be able to approximate any real-world tests accurately, correct?

That_Nineties_Chick

I'm pretty sure he ordered this during his first term and it was explained to him how utterly pointless it was.

-Nurfhurder-

I don't think anyone should be surprised by this, given that we now have a department of War

thnxjer

LessRabbit9072

This would set a precedent for many other nations world wide to do the same, one giant step in the wrong direction.

Winter_Criticism_236

Alright, a bunch of scattered thoughts because this is a subject that I’m quite familiar with.

First, the post refers to the Department of War conducting weapons testing, but a nuclear explosive test would be conducted by the Department of *Energy*, so it’s not at all clear that this is about nuclear explosive testing as opposed to merely nuclear-capable *missile* testing. Another bit of evidence for this theory is that it would take years to conduct a new nuclear test, but the post says “immediately”. In Trump’s first term, he called to restore the US’s nuclear test readiness timeframe to be more in line with nominal US policy set by Clinton when the US’s voluntary test hiatus began, versus the current atrophied capability where the US no longer even maintains test shaft drills. An order like that is what you would expect to see again even if a President intended to conduct a new test, with the actual test only being announced once higher readiness was restored.

Next up, the post says that testing will be on an “equal basis”, but no other county has been conducting full-scale nuclear explosive tests. There are two possible meanings to this: either it’s further evidence that he is only referring to missile tests, or he is referring to the persistent US claim that Russia and China are conducting covert underground tests, potentially during mysterious monitoring system outages. These allegations can be found in prior-year State Department &amp;sect;403 arms control compliance reports, available here: https://www.state.gov/adherence-to-and-compliance-with-arms-control-nonproliferation-and-disarmament-agreements-and-commitments/

If this really *is* about nuclear explosive testing, I would highly recommend this article published in the Winter 2019 issue of the National Academies’ *Issues in Science and Technology*, written by the former head of the nuclear weapons program at Los Alamos and the former chief scientist in its Science, Technology and Engineering Directorate: [The Scientific Foundation for Assessing the Nuclear Performance of Weapons in the US Stockpile Is Eroding](https://issues.org/the-scientific-foundation/)

And then this op-ed by the former director of the Defense Nuclear Agency, which references the previous article: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/27/why-america-must-resume-nuclear-testing/

It should also be noted that, by treaty, any new nuclear explosive tests would be fully-contained underground tests like what the US was doing into the ’90s. For those hoping for some fireworks, they weren’t much to look at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld_IVssMUHs

WulfTheSaxon

Alright, so can we at least we agree Trump no longer is a running for the Nobel Peace Prize, right?

TuxTool

impliedinsult

Test this on a island data, shows that nuclear testing goes into are water. Pretty sure some people are getting water without pfos and pfas and now more nuclear water is just what the people need.  Are water on earth circulates throughout the planet and the atmosphone way or another it all gets mixed into the worlds water supply.  But some can afford there own water purification systems for home use that cleans out most of this

Potential_Sun_5679

If it’s necessary to ensure the future safety and viability of our nuclear stockpile, sure.

Just a **** measuring gesture though? Forget it

Groundbreaking_War52

I don't agree with Trump with much, but this makes sense. China has been building nukes like crazy as of late, and Russia has been recently testing strategic rockets. 

MAD sucks, but its the reality that we live in, and it only makes sense that we remain prepared.

spectre1992

[deleted]

This article from The Heritage Foundation came up early in my search results after hearing about Trump’s statements, and I’m surprised I haven’t heard anyone bring this up yet.  Am I the only one finding this concerning?  : https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/america-must-prepare-test-nuclear-weapons

“Alternatively, a Congressional Research Service report notes that “the President can declare a national emergency and waive all ‘applicable statutory and regulatory restrictions.’”

“Ultimately, it is unclear how long it would take to re-establish the National Security Site such that it could handle an explosive nuclear test if ordered to do so by a President. But it should prepare itself to conduct a test within six months from the moment a President gives the order.”

“If the DOE tells a President that the Nevada underground test site cannot be made ready, and a test is therefore impossible, the President would have to either abandon the idea of conducting a nuclear explosive test or seek alternative locations to conduct the test.

If told that the Nevada test site cannot be made ready inside a year, the President may order the above-ground testing of a nuclear weapon—an action prohibited by the aforementioned 1963 Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits the testing of nuclear weapons above ground, in the atmosphere, in outer space, or underwater.21
U.S. Department of State, “Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests.”﻿


“While the United States signed and ratified the treaty under President Kennedy—and has adhered to its requirements for over six decades—the treaty allows a state to withdraw with three months notification if it deems it in its national interests to do so.

In an acute crisis, a President may withdraw the United States from the Test Ban Treaty and conduct an above-ground test either at the National Security Site or in the Pacific Ocean over open water, where nuclear fallout can be minimized. Like the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, from which the United States withdrew in 2019 following Russian cheating on the treaty,  the Test Ban Treaty does not require Senate action for withdrawal—an American President through the Secretary of State can simply give notice of the United States leaving the treaty. “

okyesterday927

It's to send a message to Moscow, and also because we actually really need to do it.   

Whether our current aging nuclear arsenal is still functional depends on the reliability of current computer testing and theoretical modeling, which we can't know whether it's accurate without actually testing some warheads.

JoeCensored

So... am I the only one who knows this comes after Russia tested the viability of using nukes to cause tidal waves?

Ok-Video9141

"The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five." - Carl Sagan

VastUnique

Most presidents visit Japan and come away with a firmer resolution never to use atomic weapons again. Trump leaves Japan and is like, “oh yeah, that reminds me, let’s get this shit started up again.”

mankowonameru

All these old MFers hell-bent on destroying the earth. Go to the nursing home already.

-You-know-it-

This sounds promising. Maybe student loans won't matter after all.

RollieOlly03

Is this the same guy that claimed he stopped eight wars?

isit65outsideor

Trump hand picked his cabinet to be 25th Amendment-proof. Look at the people who left around this time during his last administration. Now look at who left now. 

SCOTUS handed him the keys, Johnson gassed up the car. We're all in the back seat.

AudibleNod

Shit. Someone let him watch Netflix on the plane trip.

SWMI5858

We got here sooner than I expected.


Anyone still expecting an adult in the room to magically appear is about to be extremely and severely upset.

SsooooOriginal

I can't comprehend the absolute strangle hold he has on the Republican party. Congress has razor thin margins and somehow the can't get a handful of Republicans to fucking pump the brakes on this dumb fuck.

aft_skin

Republicans would be crying, shitting their pants if a Democratic President said this. They'd ask for removal from office too.

Trump asks for nukes to be tested and they sleep. There's literally no fucking reason to actively test nukes anymore. That's old timey shit. It's been done with computers for DECADES. It's bad for the environment and extremely wasteful to test them.

CelestialFury

Fucking where? 

We don't really have the world we had in the 60s. Setting nukes off is a big damn deal. Nevada has more people in it, and most of the little islands we used to "own" aren't ours anymore.

Guardiancomplex

This is scary shit. The man is a demented narcissist and he wants to be a war president so he can suspend the mid term elections. 

This is not normal. Nothing about this administration is normal.  Why is he getting away with his madness?  Where are the checks and balances built into the Constitution?

yblame

Ah fuck, we're getting Fallout irl before GTA6

Prince_Pyro

The stupider thing is that it's basically pointless now. We don't need to drop them. We understand them enough to recognize their potential without live tests.

Nixeris

On the plus side, dumbass-in-chief has a history of ignoring eyewear and showing how bigly intelligent he is by staring directly at the sun during an eclipse.  
He's going to demand a front row seat and torch his corneas.

Nekowulf

acidbluedod

I thought “stockpile stewardship” fell to the DOE.

ntyperteasy

Ahh so this is the beginning of why Zuckerberg is building an underground mansion of a bunker

Conscious-Thing-682

ChaoticSenior

This, perhaps more than anything else he's been up to so far, makes me fucking hate Trump voters. Fuck you people. Fuck you fucking pieces of shit for putting us through this.

Because of course, we all were just dying to go back to a time where there was constant existential dread about possible accidental nuclear exchanges.

night-shark

To be clear we already have the data which was the purpose of testing, it is literally science and math (not believing it doesn’t make it not so) and computer modeling can run virtually every scenario.

I think someone doesn’t realize it is 2025.

cyvaquero

Well folks turns out it IS a huge liability for us all to have a demented president, for each and everyone of us.

JesusPhoKingChrist

Looks like murdering fishermen and sending jack booted thugs into blue cities hasn't been enough to compensate for trump's crippling insecurity.

LiveFree_OrDie603

TintedApostle

Dashriprock01

SpotoDaRager

Now that IS a huge distraction from your Epstein files.

Financial-Tower-7897

spottydodgy

Testing nukes….for what? We already know they work. Just a waste of tax dollars and environmental harm for him to have a pissing contest with other world leaders?

BobFTS

Igotthesilver

Isn’t he aware we have a nuclear test ban treaty?

Numerous-Ordinary-19

RIP Polynesia/Micronesia. Just when you guys were recovering from the nuclear tests back in the 50s now you get nuked back to the Stone Age again

shayKyarbouti

I fucking hate you now and forever if you voted for this worm

huxtiblejones

TheFudge

Great, the same guy who threw a hissy fit because Canada ran a TV ad wants to warm up the nucs...

someguyfromsk

If nothing else, this is another blatant waste of millions of American tax dollars that could be going to actually help people

Herdnerfer

Now THIS is a distraction from the Epstein files. The shit in there must be heinous to skip right to nuclear weapons in the first year.

Murray38

Dementia and nukes. 


This should be interesting. 


Oh well, I won't have to pay bills anymore.

penisproject

unrepentant_fenian

He’s cashing in that Nobel peace prize any day now

LateMajor8775

We’re getting close. To catastrophe. Using nukes is one of this guys dying wishes. This prick will used nukes and die before the files are released.

Steve120988

Holy SHIT we NEED to get this man out of office.

CashewSwagger

I cannot believe this is the idiot that is going to plunge us into nuclear holocaust. I will never forgive the half of America that voted for this buffoon.

DeathbyTicklin

Oh wow. What does this have to do with the Epstein files?

OldDirtyInsulin

Epstein files are the only nuclear weapons we should be testing.

MulberryOk9853

But...we don't do that cause we don't wanna be irradiated?

Sufficient-Ad-7349

The most impirtant thing to keep in mind about this announcement is that Jeff Epstein didn't kill himself.

MeatImmediate6549

Ok...it's official,  this motherfucker is totally nuts,  25th amendment him NOW!

groovyinutah

"Tragedy struck today when the guidance system on a missile test launched at the President's order veered off of its programmed flight path and impacted in Chicago"  
  
Tell me that isn't going through his mind with this. No really, please reassure me on this one.

Sinistrahd

Testing nukes? Wow, how many times is our dear leader in the Epstein files?!

nb6635

Kevbot1000

Gotta admit, 'America starting a nuclear war' was not on my bingo card.

Shadowlance23

"Hi, I'm Donald Trump, but I wish I was Kim Jong Un."

Outburst78

What I see is a bunch of old men on their way out, scared. In a panic to have as much power as they can before they’re gone and nothing but a disgraceful moment in history, but not before destroying everything for everyone else because they’re selfish as f u c k.

LizzyBug92

Didn't they vote because they all said harris was going start a nuclear war?

AI_Renaissance

President Donald Trump announced plans to resume nuclear weapons testing in the US, ending a 33-year moratorium. This decision raises concerns about a potential arms race and the implications for global nuclear non-proliferation efforts.

US Nuclear Testing Resumption

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