By POLITICO STAFF 12/22/16 12:15 PM EST
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday pledged his commitment to the U.S. nuclear arsenal, saying the country must “greatly strengthen” its capabilities, at least for now.
“The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes,” Trump said in a tweet on Thursday, right after he hit back on reports that he is backing off his “drain the swamp” campaign pledge.
Earlier Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on his country to "strenghten" its nuclear forces.
"We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defense systems," he said, according to multiple news reports.
Trump’s comments on the U.S. nuclear arsenal also came after he met on Wednesday afternoon with half a dozen top military officers at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort where he’s staying for the holidays.
While Trump spoke with the top Pentagon brass about costs of major contracts, including the F-35, it’s not clear if they also discussed nuclear matters.
Trump caused alarm during the campaign with his talk about nuclear weapons, particularly his suggestion that other countries — including Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia — should be allowed to develop them.
But he also told The New York Times in March that “it’s a very scary nuclear world.”
“Biggest problem, to me, in the world, is nuclear, and proliferation,” Trump said at the time.
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