'I have stopped nuclear wars': Trump defends allowing major treaty to expire

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 9, 2025. REUTERS Evelyn Hockstein

President Donald Trump is defending allowing the nation’s last nuclear treaty with Russia to expire by declaring he’s already “stopped” nuclear wars between several countries. Experts and advocates warn that the treaty was the last barrier against a nuclear arms race.

“As of today, for the first time in over half a century, the US and Russia don’t have a legally binding arms control treaty in place anymore,” observed Wall Street Journal national security reporter Robbie Gramer.

“Without the New START treaty,” NBC News reported on Thursday, “which caps the number of deployed nuclear warheads at 1,550 on each side, there will be no limits on the American and Russian arsenals.”

“Not only are there no discussions between Washington and Moscow on what comes next,” NBC added, “but also officials from both countries are left guessing about the other side’s capabilities and intentions, increasing the possibility of misunderstandings and an unrestricted nuclear arms race not seen since the 1960s, experts and officials warn.”

Former President Barack Obama warned that allowing the treaty to expire "would pointlessly wipe out decades of diplomacy, and could spark another arms race that makes the world less safe."

Former Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, called it a "tragic day for global security," and noted that "the world is now a more dangerous place."

Richard Stengel, a former Under Secretary of State during the Obama administration, warned: "Sure, the START treaty has its flaws, but it's the last restraint on a new nuclear arms race."

"Letting it die doesn't do anyone any good," he continued. "The US president's bellicosity and cavalier attitude to nuclear weapons and NATO has caused many new nations to contemplate building their own nuclear arsenal. That's also bad news. The math is pretty simple: the more weapons, the more danger."

President Donald Trump, however, appeared unperturbed.

“The United States is the most powerful Country in the World,” he declared. “I completely rebuilt its Military in my First Term, including new and many refurbished nuclear weapons. I also added Space Force and now, continue to rebuild our Military at levels never seen before. We are even adding Battleships, which are 100 times more powerful than the ones that roamed the Seas during World War II.”

“I have stopped Nuclear Wars from breaking out across the World between Pakistan and India, Iran and Israel, and Russia and Ukraine,” he claimed.

Trump then appeared to suggest that Russia has been violating the treaty, arguing that therefore it made sense to allow it to expire. And he suggested that a new nuclear treaty should be crafted — although he did not say when.

“Rather than extend ‘NEW START’ (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future.”

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