Trump's push to resume nuclear testing 'immediately' is unrealistic and could backfire, experts say

President Trump said this week that he wants the Defense Department to begin testing nuclear weapons "immediately," but experts say that's wishful thinking.

President Donald Trump said this week that he wants the Defense Department to begin testing nuclear weapons "immediately," but experts say that's wishful thinking.

The U.S. has only one location where such testing could take place, an underground facility at the former Nevada Nuclear Test Site near Las Vegas. Preparing the site for testing would require hundreds of millions of dollars and at least two years, nuclear experts said.

"There is no immediacy when it comes to testing," Gregory Jaczko, former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said on "Meet the Press" Thursday.

Trump announced his desire to conduct nuclear tests in a Truth Social post shortly before his meeting this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.

"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," Trump wrote Wednesday. "That process will begin immediately."