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'Let it be an arms race': Donald Trump reportedly doubles down on nuclear weapons expansion 'Let it be an arms race': Trump appears to double down on nuclear expansion
(about 3 hours later)
Asked on Friday morning for clarification of his remarks about America’s need to “strengthen and expand” its nuclear weapons, President-elect Donald Trump said: “Let it be an arms race.” The president-elect Donald Trump has stunned nuclear weapons experts by appearing to call for a renewed arms race on his Twitter feed and in a TV interview.
Trump spoke by phone to MSNBC Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski, who reported the conversation with co-host Joe Scarborough. Both spoke while wearing pyjamas and slippers and sitting in front of a roaring fire. “Let it be an arms race,” the president in waiting was reported to have told Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe programme, in an early phone call on Friday.
On Thursday, Trump used Twitter to say the US “must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes”. According to Brzezinski he went on to say: “We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.”
As well as the opaque meaning of the remark, subsequent debate centered on whether it was prompted by similar words from Russian president Vladimir Putin. The incendiary comment followed a tweet on Thursday in which Trump threatened to preside over a major ramping up of the US nuclear arsenal.
He said on Thursday: “We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems.” “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes,” he wrote.
A statement from a member of the incoming White House press team, communications director Jason Miller, failed to clarify the issue. The volley of remarks had Trump aides scrambling into damage limitation mode, but their efforts were powerless to neutralise the shock waves of alarm and bewilderment provoked by the president-elect’s remarks.
Trump had “emphasized the need to improve and modernize our deterrent capability as a vital way to pursue peace through strength”, Miller said. He later told Reuters Trump was not advocating the use of nuclear weapons and that the tweet should not be read as a new policy proposal. They appeared to fly in the face of 35 years of bipartisan US policy geared towards reducing the number of nuclear weapons around the world. Nuclear arms specialists were quick to cry foul.
In a press conference on Friday, Putin said he saw “nothing unusual” in Trump’s comments. The Russian president added that any arms race was caused by the US pulling out of the Anti-Ballistic Missiles Treaty – under George W Bush in 2002 – and said: “If someone is stimulating a nuclear arms race it’s not us.” “It is irresponsible and reckless for the president elect to be articulating future US nuclear policy in a tweet and on a morning news show,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the independent Arms Control Association.
On MSNBC, speaking to camera, Scarborough said: “Mica asked the president-elect while we had the opportunity … to clarify the tweet yesterday regarding the nuclear arsenal. And the president-elect told you what?” He added: “Just the words have damaging effects. It invokes confusion and can stir hostility among our adversaries.”
In tune with many of his Twitter-based pronouncements, Trump’s intervention prompted confusion about exactly what he was saying. One issue that remained particularly opaque was whom his threats of a renewed arms race were directed against.
The only world power that can match the 1,800 deployed strategic nuclear weapons the US commands is Russia, whose president Vladimir Putin has been showered with praise by Trump.
On Friday, Trump put out a statement in which he said he had received a “very nice letter from Vladimir Putin” and added: “His thoughts are so correct.”
More ominously, the president-elect said: “I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path.”
A copy of a letter dated 15 December accompanied the statement, in the name of Putin and bearing the postal address “Moscow, Kremlin”. It was billed as an “unofficial translation” – the identity of the translator was unclear.
Putin supposedly wrote: “I hope that after you assume the position of the President of the United States of America we will be able – by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner - to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level.”
It was unclear whether the release of Putin’s supposed letter was prompted by an exchange of remarks with Moscow on nuclear weapons. Earlier on Friday, Putin said at a press conference that “if someone is stimulating a nuclear arms race it’s not us”.
“We don’t violate anything,” he said. “We are in line with our obligations as to the number of our warheads.”
On Thursday, Putin had gone further and said Russia needed to “strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems”.
Trump’s unrestrained language stands in sharp contrast with the stance adopted by President Obama over the past eight years.
Though Obama has struggled to deliver on his early promise to oversee a sharp reduction in the US nuclear arsenal, agreeing to a $1tn modernisation program over 30 years for the triad of air, land and sea delivery systems, he has consistently adopted the vocabulary of disarmament.
In 2013, the White House worked with Pentagon chiefs to carry out a detailed review of the US nuclear capability. It concluded that the country already had a third more strategic weapons than were necessary to ensure nuclear deterrence.
Kimball said the findings of the 2013 review proved that “from a military strategy and security standpoint, there’s absolutely no need to get into any arms race”.
Trump’s comments to MSNBC were revealed by the host Joe Scarborough, who like Brzezinski was presenting the Christmas-themed show while dressed in pyjamas and slippers, sitting in front of a roaring fire.
He said: “Mica asked the president-elect while we had the opportunity … to clarify the tweet yesterday regarding the nuclear arsenal. And the president-elect told you what?”
“‘Let it be an arms race’,” Brzezinski said. “‘We will outmatch them at every pass.’”“‘Let it be an arms race’,” Brzezinski said. “‘We will outmatch them at every pass.’”
“‘And outlast them all’,” Scarborough added.“‘And outlast them all’,” Scarborough added.
“And outlast them all,” Brzezinski repeated, wonderingly. “And outlast them all,” Brzezinski repeated.
“You can put that down as breaking news,” Scarborough said.“You can put that down as breaking news,” Scarborough said.
Trump is spending Christmas at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. His main engagement for the day was a round of golf with Tiger Woods. Trump’s pick to be the incoming White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, led the damage limitation push.
Trump’s reported remark contradicted comments to the same network from the incoming White House press secretary, Republican National Committee communications chief Sean Spicer.
He told NBC Trump would not allow an arms race, because he would stop other countries from increasing their stockpiles of nuclear weapons.He told NBC Trump would not allow an arms race, because he would stop other countries from increasing their stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
“He’s going to ensure that other countries get the message that he’s not going to sit back and allow that,” Spicer said. “And what’s going to happen is they will come to their senses, and we will all be just fine.”“He’s going to ensure that other countries get the message that he’s not going to sit back and allow that,” Spicer said. “And what’s going to happen is they will come to their senses, and we will all be just fine.”
In two customary pre-dawn tweets, meanwhile, Trump complained about political pressure that led to his son, Eric Trump, being forced to stop directly raising money for a charitable foundation. Trump, who also tweeted on Friday morning a complaint about his son Eric being forced to give up charity work over perceptions of selling access to the president-elect and his family, is spending Christmas at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. His main engagement for the day was a round of golf with Tiger Woods.
“My wonderful son, Eric, will no longer be allowed to raise money for children with cancer,” Trump said, “because of a possible conflict of interest with my presidency.
“Isn’t this a ridiculous shame? He loves these kids, has raised millions of dollars for them, and now must stop. Wrong answer!”
The complaint followed a report by the Associated Press that Eric Trump’s foundation financially benefited charities connected to his family and members of his foundation’s board. Eric Trump said he would stop soliciting donations because he worried about the perception of buying access to his father.
The issue of conflicts of interest arising between Trump’s political role and his business activities – and those of his children – remains contentious.
Recently, three leading legal experts released a report which said Trump should be impeached upon taking office, under the emoluments clause of the constitution, which forbids office holders being beholden to foreign interests.
The previous day was a busy one. Trump also used Twitter to say a United Nations resolution on Israeli settlements should be vetoed, triggering debate about whether he should say anything with Barack Obama still in office. In the event, the UN resolution was not voted upon.
On Thursday evening, the president-elect also tweeted about the costs of two US fighter jets, inserting himself into the traditionally bureaucratic process of defence procurement, and complained about “so-called ‘A’ list” celebrities wanting tickets to his inauguration.
“I want the PEOPLE!” he wrote.
It was reported on Thursday that with “A-list” performers including Elton John and Garth Brooks turning Trump down, The Beach Boys were considering an invitation to play at the event in Washington on 20 January.
The Rockettes are also reported to be on the bill, whether individual dancers like the idea or not.