In his first State of the Union speech, President Trump called upon Congress to fully fund the rebuilding of the US military. This includes a rebuilding and modernization of the US nuclear capabilities, a direction that concerns nuclear nonproliferation experts.
Trump made his case, saying “Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and our values,. In confronting these dangers, we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unmatched power is the surest means of our defense.”
The President has assured his generals, and the American people that he will work towards a historic military buildup during his administration. In the Nuclear Posture Review, he promised that the Pentagon would be tasked with developing next-gen nuclear strategies across all platforms – bombers, submarines, and missiles.
Channeling Raegan’s famous dictum, ‘ peace through strength’ Trump pointed out that “we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unmatched power is the surest means of our true and great defense,” and “For this reason, I am asking the Congress to end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military.”
Trump has expressed that the country is not up to snuff in terms of military power due to recent defense budget cuts, and severe neglect under the Obama Administration, which can be disastrous in case of a breakout with rival countries.
The President said, “As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and so powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression by any other nation or anyone else,”. “Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet, sadly.”