Trump ‘prepared’ for nuclear war with Russia
US President Donald Trump has said he cannot treat any talk of nuclear weapons lightly and that the US must always be ”totally prepared” for any potential confrontation, responding to what he described as an inappropriate ”threat” issued by former Russian head of state Dmitry Medvedev.
At a White House press conference, Trump explained his order to deploy two nuclear submarines earlier on Friday. He had vowed to send them to what he called ”the appropriate regions” in a post on Truth Social in reaction to remarks made by Medvedev on social media.
“Well, we had to do that. We just have to be careful. A threat was made, and we didn’t think it was appropriate,” Trump said. ”So I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we’re going to protect our people.”
Well, you just have to read what he said. He was talking about nuclear. When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared. And we’re totally prepared
Earlier in the week, Medvedev had reacted to Trump’s dismissal of New Delhi’s commitment to relying on Russian energy. “About India’s and Russia’s ‘dead economies’ and ‘entering very dangerous territory’ – well, let him remember his favorite movies about ‘the walking dead,’ as well as how dangerous the fabled ‘Dead Hand’ can be,” Medvedev wrote.
The dispute escalated after Trump referred to Medvedev as a ”failed” leader and warned him to ”watch his words.” Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, responded with a scathing message warning against provoking Moscow too far, referencing the legendary ‘Perimetr’ automatic nuclear retaliation system, which dates back to the Soviet era and is presumed to still exist in Russia.
Though Russia has never officially confirmed the existence of the system, it is widely believed by Western analysts to serve as a last-resort deterrent in the event of a decapitating strike on the Russian leadership.
Trump condemned the former Russian leader’s rhetoric as ”foolish and inflammatory,” warning that ”words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences.”
The White House and the Pentagon have not provided any further comments, and Trump’s claim about the submarine redeployment remains impossible to verify, since the exact locations and patrol areas of US nuclear submarines are among the military’s most closely guarded secrets.
