President Trump has issued a stark warning about the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons, calling them the “biggest threat to humanity” and emphasizing their potential to “end the world” if used. Speaking in an interview with Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures*, Trump described nuclear weapons as “monsters” capable of causing unprecedented destruction, lamenting the vast resources spent on maintaining and expanding nuclear arsenals.
“The greatest [threat] 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,” Trump said. He expressed concern over the staggering costs of nuclear programs, particularly in the United States, which possesses the second-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons globally, behind Russia. “We spend a lot of money on nuclear weapons—the level of destruction is beyond anything you can imagine,” he added. “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.”
Trump also criticized world leaders and politicians who prioritize climate change as the most significant existential threat, dismissing their focus as misplaced. “I watched Biden for years say the existential threat is from the climate,” Trump said. “I said ‘no.’ They talk about the climate and they talk about the dangers of the climate, but they don’t talk about the dangers of a nuclear weapon, which could happen tomorrow.”
The former president highlighted the growing nuclear capabilities of Russia and China, noting that Russia currently possesses the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, while China is rapidly expanding its arsenal. He predicted that China could catch up to Russia and the U.S. within a decade. Trump reiterated his desire to restart nuclear arms control talks with both nations, aiming to reduce global nuclear stockpiles and slash defense budgets. “There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons; we already have so many,” he said. “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.”
Trump suggested that such negotiations could take place once ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are resolved. His comments underscore his long-standing focus on nuclear disarmament, a key theme during his presidency, when he engaged in talks with North Korea and withdrew the U.S. from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia.
As global tensions remain high, Trump’s warnings about the dangers of nuclear weapons and his calls for renewed arms control talks highlight the urgent need for diplomatic efforts to prevent catastrophic outcomes. The potential for nuclear conflict, he argued, remains a far more immediate and devastating threat than climate change or other global challenges.
