Trump’s New Nuke Tests Won’t Include ‘Explosions’ or ‘Mushroom Clouds,’ Energy Secretary Admits
Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared Sunday that President Donald Trump’s order to start testing the U.S. nuclear arsenal will not include nuclear “explosions” in the Nevada desert.
Trump created some alarm when he announced earlier this week on Truth Social, “The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”
Wright told Peter Doocy with Fox News’s The Sunday Briefing that the testing will not look like the last time the U.S. conducted nuclear tests in 1992 when it exploded nuclear weapons under the Nevada desert.
“I think the tests we’re talking about right now are system tests, these are not nuclear explosions,” Wright said. “These are what we call noncritical explosions. So you’re testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry and set up the nuclear explosion.”
Doocy asked, “So this is not something where people who live in the Nevada desert should expect to see a mushroom cloud at some point?”
“No. No worries about that. No worries about that,” Wright assured him.
Wright continued, “It’s an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly. And that’s part of the test regime. To be clear, we know that it does work properly, but the president just wants to make sure we keep on top of it over time.”
Watch the clip above via Fox News.
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