With the nuclear arms agreement between the United States and Russia expiring on Thursday, President Donald Trump made it clear he wants a stronger, smarter replacement. Posting on Truth Social, Trump said the moment calls for a new treaty that actually reflects reality—not one that lets violations slide under the table.
Without the New START Treaty, there will be no limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time in more than 50 years. And Trump, unsurprisingly, had a few things to say about that.
“The United States is the most powerful Country in the World,” Trump wrote. “I completely rebuilt its Military in my First Term, including new and many refurbished nuclear weapons.”
Trump highlighted how he strengthened the armed forces, pointing to additions like battleships and the creation of the Space Force—because protecting Earth wasn’t enough, apparently. He also credited himself with preventing nuclear conflicts around the globe.
“I have stopped Nuclear Wars from breaking out across the World between Pakistan and India, Iran and Israel, and Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote.
Rather than simply extending New START, Trump said the deal itself was deeply flawed.
“Rather than extend ‘NEW START’ (a badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last year said he was prepared to stick to the treaty’s limits for another year if Washington did the same. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin discussed the treaty’s expiration with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and noted that Washington had not responded to Moscow’s proposal.
Russia, Ushakov said, “will act in a balanced and responsible manner based on thorough analysis of the security situation.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry later stated that under current conditions, the parties are no longer bound by the treaty’s obligations and are free to decide their next steps.
New START, signed in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limited each side to 1,550 nuclear warheads deployed on no more than 700 missiles and bombers. The treaty was originally set to expire in 2021 but was extended for five years.
The agreement also called for on-site inspections to ensure compliance, but those inspections stopped in 2020 due to COVID-19 and were never restarted. In February 2023, Putin suspended Russia’s participation, arguing that U.S. inspections were unacceptable while Washington and NATO openly supported Ukraine against Moscow.
Even so, the Kremlin said it would continue respecting the treaty’s limits. In September, Putin offered to follow those limits for another year to give both sides time to negotiate a new agreement, warning that the treaty’s expiration could be destabilizing and encourage nuclear proliferation.
New START was the latest in a long line of U.S.-Russia arms reduction agreements, many of which have already been terminated.
Trump’s push for a modernized treaty sends a clear message: America should negotiate from strength, not habit. A deal that actually works—and is actually enforced—would not only protect U.S. security but help keep the world safer in the long run, which is exactly where serious leadership is supposed to lead.
