Nuclear weapons pose a much more significant danger than climate change, according to the US president
US President Donald Trump has declared nuclear weapons as the foremost threat to humanity. He criticized those focusing on global warming while overlooking the immediate dangers of weapons of mass destruction.
The statement comes days after the US president called for nuclear disarmament among world powers.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump stated that “climate lunatics” predict minor sea-level rises over centuries but ignore a threat of a nuclear war that could happen “tomorrow.”
“They talk about global warming, and they say the ocean is going to rise one-eighth of an inch in the next 300 years. And nobody ever talks about nuclear weapons,” he said.
“I watched [former US president Joe] Biden for years say the existential threat… is from the climate. And I said, ‘no’. The greatest is sitting in shelves in various countries called ‘nuclear weapons’ that are big monsters that can blow your heads off for miles and miles and miles,” Trump argued.
Advocating for global disarmament, Trump proposed on Thursday that all nations eliminate their nuclear arsenals. He pointed out that the US and Russia currently hold the largest stockpiles, while China is rapidly expanding its capabilities. Trump called for talks on denuclearization, emphasizing the “crazy” power of these weapons.
Moscow said in response it would be ready to engage in arms control discussions with Washington. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov underscored the necessity of such dialogue for global security and suggested that European nuclear powers, such as France and the UK, should also be included in these talks.
“It is impossible to just overlook European nuclear arsenals in this dialogue,” he said. Peskov pointed to recent remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, who called Russia a “threat to France and Europe,” and announced that he is considering expanding France’s nuclear umbrella to cover other EU member states. Moscow accused him of having aggressive intentions against Russia.
