Trump Denies Report on Request to Increase U.S. Nuclear Arsenal

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, on Wednesday, October 11, rejected a report by NBC News regarding a request to increase the country's nuclear weapons. According to Reuters, Donald Trump, speaking at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, stated: 'I never discussed increasing (nuclear weapons). I wanted them to be in the best shape. This is a fake news story published by NBC.' NBC reported that Donald Trump, in a meeting with senior military and political officials in July, requested an increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal to levels seen in the 1960s, showing a chart of America's nuclear capabilities from that decade. Meanwhile, the President of the United States, while denying this report, said: 'We do not need an increase. However, I want to modernize and completely rebuild them.' In this context, James Mattis, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, also called NBC's report incorrect and irresponsible. Mattis stated: 'The recent report regarding the President's request to increase the nuclear arsenal is completely incorrect. The publication of such false reports is an irresponsible act.' Donald Trump also attacked NBC's report on his Twitter account, warning that at some point, the broadcasting of networks that publish fake news must be challenged. Tensions between the U.S. President and NBC have escalated in the past week. The news network previously claimed that Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, had to convince Rex Tillerson not to resign from his position this summer, and during this meeting, the Secretary of State referred to Donald Trump as 'a fool.' In response to the publication of this report, Tillerson stated that he had never considered resigning. Subsequently, the spokesperson for the Secretary of State emphasized that Tillerson never used such language.