WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he wants the U.S. nuclear arsenal in “tiptop shape” but has not asked that it be greatly expanded.
Trump was responding to a news report that he had said during a meeting at the Pentagon in July that he wanted what amounted to nearly a ten-fold increase in the number of U.S. nuclear weapons.
In remarks in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump denounced the NBC report and said such a big increase was “totally unnecessary.” He said he does want to modernize the nuclear force.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a two-sentence statement later saying the news report was false and irresponsible.