Trump Warns: “We Can’t Let Other Countries Get Nuclear Weapons”
U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized that the use of nuclear weapons and the expansion of the number of countries owning nuclear weapons are “unacceptable,” confirming his intention to engage in discussions with Russia and China to reduce the number of nuclear warheads.
Speaking at an investment forum in Miami, Florida, organized by Saudi Arabia on February 19, 2025, Trump stated, “We can never allow this to happen. If that happens (the use of nuclear weapons), the world will be destroyed. We cannot allow new countries to acquire nuclear weapons, not just Iran.”[i]
He added, “Russia and we [the U.S.] possess the largest nuclear arsenals, significantly surpassing other nuclear-armed nations. China is not close yet, but it will catch up within three, four, or five years.”
Trump also expressed a desire for a trilateral summit with China and Russia to discuss reducing nuclear capabilities: “One of the first meetings I would like to hold is with Chinese President Xi and Russian President Putin. I want to say, let’s reduce our military budgets by half… The meeting would be dedicated to reducing nuclear weapons.”
Trump’s statements affirm a scenario previously outlined by Dr. Youssef, President of ICGER, in an article published on November 20, 2024, titled “Putin Ushers in a New Nuclear Age.” Dr. Youssef discussed the potential consequences of normalizing the use of nuclear weapons in warfare and crossing the nuclear threshold. He highlighted that “the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden and its NATO allies are undermining the efforts of the incoming Trump administration to end the war in Ukraine. Under such circumstances, Trump would not find room or opportunities for a negotiated solution with Russia and would be compelled to continue providing increased financial and military aid to Ukraine.”
Dr. Youssef had previously stated in his article that one of the gravest dangers of Russia’s revised nuclear doctrine is the normalization of nuclear weapon use in conflicts. He argued, “Every nuclear-capable country may resort to nuclear arms whenever involved in a war, making such usage routine and normalized. This breaks the nuclear threshold among nuclear-armed nations, causing nuclear weapons to be treated similarly to conventional arms.”
He added, “Another consequence would be triggering a fierce race among non-nuclear countries to acquire nuclear weapons by any means possible, causing widespread proliferation, fundamentally contradicting the purpose of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and subsequent protocols, making their existence meaningless.”
Dr. Youssef further noted, “The goal of the Biden administration and its NATO allies is to obstruct the incoming Trump administration’s plans to end the war in Ukraine by pushing the tactical and strategic situation on the battlefield to a point of no return, escalating hostilities to a level where any Trump attempt to cut military aid to Ukraine would appear as American weakness, betrayal of historical U.S. military prestige, and defeat before Moscow.”
He concluded, “Trump would then have no choice but to continue providing more financial and military assistance to Ukraine, as no room would remain for a negotiated settlement with Russia.”
[i] https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-fii-priority-conference-miami-beach-florida-february-19-2025/