US president Donald Trump has admitted he believes that nuclear weapons are the greatest threat to humanity, starkly warning that the use of ‘monster’ warheads may ‘end the world’.
Trump, in charge of the second-largest nuclear stockpile in the world, made the shock statement in an interview with Fox News, telling the broadcaster: ‘The level of destruction is beyond anything you can imagine.’
He said: ‘We spend a lot of money of nuclear weapons – the level of destruction is beyond anything you can imagine.
‘It’s just bad that you have to spend all this money on something that if it’s used, it’s probably the end of the world.’
The Republican added that the threat of climate change was nothing compared to the risks posed by nuclear weapons, claiming that a nuclear war ‘could happen tomorrow.’
Trump explained: ‘I watched Biden for years say the existential threat is from the climate. I said ‘no’.
‘The greatest is sitting on shelves in various countries called ‘nuclear weapons’ that are big monsters that can blow your heads off for miles and miles and miles.’
While it is not known if this his administration’s official position, Trump has signalled that he is keen to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world.
US president Donald Trump has admitted he believes that nuclear weapons are the greatest threat to humanity
Trump has signalled that he is keen to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world (File image)
Last month, Trump said he was willing to reopen arms controls negotiations with both China and Russia.
He said at the White House: ‘There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons. We already have so many.
‘You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons.’
He added: ‘We’re all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things that are actually, hopefully, much more productive.’
While the US currently has 5,177 nuclear warheads, including 1,477 waiting to be dismantled, this is a far cry from its peak stockpile of 31,255 warheads in the late 1960s.
The disarmament process has massive slowed down since the mid-2000s, however.
But the US’ decision on whether to follow through with disarmament will also have to consider the stockpiles of other nuclear countries.
Russia has the highest number of nukes with nearly 5,600, with China a distant third with around 350.
In 2022, then-president Joe Biden approved a major strategic plan to refocus the US’ nuclear deterrence strategy on the rapid expansion on China’s arsenal of deadly warheads.
China’s military shows off their latest missiles during the National Day in Beijing
Earlier this week, sabre-rattling China announced it is set to boost its defence spending by 7.2% after threatening America with ‘any war’ amid a furious row over Donald Trump’s planned tariffs.
The communist state announced the huge military spending boost as global tensions soared with Beijing and Washington both declaring themselves ready for conflict.
Tensions between the US and China have soared to dizzying heights in recent days, with American president Donald Trump this week increasing tariffs on all Chinese products to 20% over allegations China was fuelling a fentanyl crisis in the States.
After refusing to back down on the enormous tariffs on China, which now sit at an enormous 20%, Beijing has promised to ‘fight to the end.’
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: ‘Exerting extreme pressure on China is the wrong target and the wrong calculation … If the US has other intentions and insists on a tariff war, trade war or any other war, China will fight to the end.
‘We advise the US to put away its bullying face and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation as soon as possible.’
The Chinese embassy in the US added: ‘If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.’
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said in response that the US is ‘prepared’ to go to war with China, telling Fox: ‘Those who long for peace must prepare for war. that’s why we’re rebuilding our military.
‘If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong, and that president understands peace comes through strength,’ Hegseth added.
Refurbished Minuteman missile engines awaiting shipment along with Peacekeeper missile motors
An inert Minuteman III missile is seen in a training launch tube at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota
Trump’s European allies, who have been forced in recent weeks to rethink how they handle nuclear weapons, have said they are willing to step up their nuclear deterrences.
French president Emmanuel Macron gravely said he was open to discussing how to extend the protection offered by nuclear missiles to his nation’s European allies.
He said in an address to the nation: ‘Our nuclear deterrent protects us: it’s complete, sovereign, French through and through.
‘But, responding to the historic call of the future German Chancellor, I have decided to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent through our (nuclear) deterrence.’
And last night, Poland’s Donald Tusk said he wants access to nuclear weapons as he plans to have every adult male undergo military training to grow a 500,000-strong army in a bid to deter Putin.
The Polish Prime Minister revealed he was having serious discussions with France about falling under the protections of their nuclear umbrella, to his parliament on Friday.
It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron offered to extend his nation’s nuclear protection to European allies and invited military chiefs to discuss putting boots on the ground in Ukraine.
During his announcement, Tusk emphasised the Eastern European county could not rely on conventional weaponry alone, noting that Ukraine had surrendered its nuclear ammunition to continue to be attacked by Russia.
‘We must be aware that Poland must reach for the most modern capabilities also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons … this is a race for security, not for war,’ he said.
Service members of Ukraine’s 13th Brigade Khartiia load a Vampire drone with food and ammunition supplies to be delivered to the infantry at the frontline on March 7, 2025 in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine
These recently cleared photos of the reentry of an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM demonstrate the accuracy of the unarmed ICBM test launch last month, 2,300 miles west-southwest of Hawaii on Kwajalein Atoll, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Polish leader has also set his sights on dramatically growing his army, which currently sits at 200,000 soldiers – the third largest in NATO after the US and Turkey – to a 500,000-strong legion.
Tusk said the military training would create a reserve force that is ‘adequate to possible threats’, with aims to finalise scheme plans – open to women volunteers – by the end of the year.
German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz on Sunday said he would like talks with France and Britain about sharing their nuclear weapons, but not as a substitute for US nuclear protection of Europe.
‘Sharing nuclear weapons is an issue that we need to talk about … we have to become stronger together in nuclear deterrence,’ he said in an interview on Deutschlandfunk radio, a day after agreeing cornerstones of a coalition deal between his conservative party and the Social Democratic SPD party.
‘We should talk with both countries (France and Britain), always also from the perspective of supplementing the American nuclear shield, which we of course want to see maintained.’
Germany, due to its Second World War past, has bound itself to non-nuclear defence in a number of international treaties but participates in NATO weapons-sharing arrangements.
