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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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An ex-adviser to former President Donald Trump encouraged him to reverse a nuclear policy that has been in place for 30 years.
On Monday, former White House National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien under Trump's administration, published an essay in the Foreign Affairs magazine, discussing Trump's presidency and how he encouraged peace across the globe.
In the essay, O'Brien goes on to discuss the different nuclear arsenals of countries such as China and Russia and calls on Trump to resume live-testing nuclear weapons.
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"The triad has become more important in recent years as China and Russia have modernized their nuclear arsenals. China has doubled the size of its arsenal since 2020: a massive, unexplained, and unwarranted expansion. The United States has to maintain technical and numerical superiority to the combined Chinese and Russian nuclear stockpiles," O'Brien wrote.
"To do so, Washington must test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world for the first time since 1992—not just by using computer models. If China and Russia continue to refuse to engage in good-faith arms control talks, the United States should also resume production of uranium-235 and plutonium-239, the primary fissile isotopes of nuclear weapons."
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Trump remains the presumptive Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election, but it is unknown if he will follow the recommendations from O'Brien. Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
Amid Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine, tensions between the U.S. and other nations have remained heightened.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly criticized the U.S. over their support for Ukraine in the war and recently spoke about Moscow's nuclear doctrine.
Earlier this month, the Russian state-run news agency, RIA Novosti, reported that Putin delivered a speech at the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and mentioned Russia's nuclear doctrine.
"This doctrine is a living instrument, and we are carefully watching what is happening in the world, around us, and do not rule out making some changes to this doctrine," Putin said, according to RIA Novosti. "I don't think that such a case has arisen."
"We have a nuclear doctrine. Look what it says. If someone's actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible for us to use all means at our disposal. This should not be taken lightly, superficially," Putin said while speaking with other news agencies, Al Jazeera wrote.
In 2023, Trump spoke about nuclear weapons and warned that the current "level of power of nuclear weapons is incredible."
"Take Hiroshima or take Nagasaki and that was many, many decades ago and multiply that times 500, that's what a big bomb would be today," Trump said during an interview with Fox News' Hannity. "Whether it's Israel or major countries, nuclear weapons are the biggest problems we have."
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