Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said Thursday that she’s worried about a new report indicating President Trump wasn’t aware of a treaty between the United States and Russia limiting nuclear weapons supplies.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Trump had to pause a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask staff members what the New START treaty is after Putin brought up a potential extension of the treaty. The treaty, passed by the Senate under President Obama, requires the U.S. and Russia to drop their nuclear weapons supplies to 1,550 warheads by 2018.
Shaheen said Trump not knowing what the New START treaty is demonstrates a dangerous level of ignorance.
“It’s impossible to overstate the negligence of the President of the United States not knowing basic facts about nuclear policy and arms control,” said Shaheen. “If this report is true, President Trump should immediately review the provisions of the New START Treaty with his advisors and Cabinet. The President’s reported conversation with President Putin directly undermines testimony delivered by his Secretary of State of and Secretary of Defense as their nominations were considered.”
In the report, Trump called the New START treaty a “bad deal” for the United States and said it was another example of Obama making bad choices for the country.
Shaheen disagreed with that assessment.
“New START has unquestionably made our country safer, an opinion widely shared by national security experts on both sides of the aisle,” she said. “The administration desperately needs to develop a consistent position on nuclear policy, especially before engaging in further conversations with world leaders.”
