Former US President Donald Trump, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, claims that the US was close to a deal with Russia and China on eliminating nuclear weapons during his presidency.
Trump made this claim during a two-hour conversation with comedian Andrew Schulz, which was posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
“We were close to a deal for getting rid of nuclear weapons. It would be so good,” Trump said. “I’m talking about Russia, ourselves and China. We would then bring everyone else into it.”
Trump argued that nuclear weapons are “the biggest threat we have in the world today,” and stated, “It’s not global warming, where the oceans are rising 1/8 of an inch in the next 500 years.”
Neither Russia nor China has yet commented on Trump’s claim about a denuclearization treaty being in the works during his administration.
Trump’s remarks came during a discussion about Iran’s alleged nuclear program. He criticized President Joe Biden for being reluctant to confront Tehran. Biden has publicly urged Israel to refrain from striking Iranian nuclear and oil facilities.
In 2015, the five nuclear-armed members of the UN Security Council reached a deal with Tehran. This deal restricted Iran from enriching uranium beyond a certain level, making it impossible for them to build atomic weapons. Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from this agreement in 2018. Although Biden promised to reinstate the deal, his diplomats failed to make any progress over the past four years.
In 2019, Trump also withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) Treaty, accusing Russia of violating it. This left the New START as the only remaining arms control agreement between Russia and the US. Trump initially attempted to include China in the treaty, but Beijing declined, and it seemed as if New START might expire at the start of Trump’s second term.
The Biden White House extended the treaty in February 2021, but it is now likely to expire in 2026. Russia suspended its participation in New START in February 2023, citing the illegal and illegitimate US sanctions that hindered its reciprocal enforcement, as well as US support for Ukrainian attacks on Russian strategic air bases.
Trump officially lost the 2020 election to Biden but has questioned the vote’s legitimacy since then. He won the 2024 Republican nomination and will face current Vice-President Kamala Harris, who was nominated by the Democrats after Biden withdrew from the race in July, in the November 5 election.