Donald Trump slams spending on nuclear weapons, calls for arms control talks: ‘Big monsters on shelves’

US President Donald Trump warned about the catastrophic power of nuclear weapons. He emphasised that the destructive potential of these arms is beyond imagination. “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,” he said in an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.

Exorbitant spending on devastation

Trump criticised the enormous expenditure on nuclear weapons, stating, “We spend a lot of money on nuclear weapons — the level of destruction is beyond anything you can imagine.” He lamented the cost of maintaining and developing such weaponry, adding, “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.”

Climate vs Nuclear – A stark comparison

Highlighting a key difference in threat perception, Trump contrasted the focus on climate change with the dangers posed by nuclear arms. “I watched [former President Joe] Biden for years say the existential threat is from the climate,” he said, “I said ‘No.'” He continued, “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.”

A call for arms control talks

Trump stressed the urgency of restarting nuclear arms control negotiations with Russia and China. “There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons, we already have so many,” he remarked, noting that current arsenals are capable of destroying the world multiple times over.

He expressed hope that the United States, Russia, and China could eventually agree to cut their massive defense budgets in half.

He added that he would look to engage in nuclear talks with these nations once “we straighten it all out” in the Middle East and Ukraine.