Trump goes nuclear | The Playbook Podcast

Minutes before President Donald Trump headed into his long-awaited and widely watched meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he took to Truth Social to announce that the U.S. would “immediately” begin testing nuclear weapons. The U.S. has not conducted a test of nuclear weapons in more than three decades. But it’s unclear how much of a practical play this announcement by Trump was or whether it was largely wielded as a negotiating tactic with other nuclear powers. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns dig into the nuclear news, and the government shutdown that Trump is returning to today. Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 00:25 – Asia trip recap 01:15 – Sudden nuclear announcement 02:59 – History of U.S. nuclear testing 03:39 – Global nuclear moves 04:30 – Russia’s super torpedo 05:51 – Madman diplomacy 07:11 – Trump’s Advisers & plans 08:02 – Strategic moratorium 10:13 – Back to reality: Government shutdown 13:00 – Chaos in Newark 14:12 – Playbook Canada Launch ----------------------------------------- Subscribe to our channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgjtvMmHXbutALaw9XzRkAg?view_as=subscriber Check out our video catalog: https://www.politico.com/video Follow POLITICO here: ➤ X: https://x.com/politico/ ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/politico/ ➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/politico/