In the middle of a high-stakes diplomatic tour of Asia, President Trump threatened on social media to resume nuclear testing for the first time in more than 30 years.
He made the threat just minutes before he was scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping of China, who is overseeing one of the fastest buildups of a nuclear arsenal on earth.
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media site, saying the process would begin immediately.
The words “on an equal basis” may mean he will show off the power of American missiles or undersea nuclear assets, rather than detonate a nuclear weapon.
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