Energy secretary: Trump ‘bluntly irresponsible’ on nukes

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is calling Donald Trump’s talk about letting U.S. allies get nuclear weapons “extremely troubling.”

“First of all, to suggest that nuclear weapons are not to be used, at least initially, and preferably always, as a deterrent to their use, is not a very responsible approach,” he said on “MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports” on Thursday.

{mosads}“Secondly, in terms of the spread of nuclear weapons further … it’s a terrible idea, to put it bluntly. I’m afraid this kind of talk in an election is bluntly irresponsible and is detrimental to our and all of our allies’ security posture.”

Trump suggested last weekend that he would consider letting Japan and South Korea build their own nuclear arsenals.

Moniz said Trump’s stance would undermine President Obama’s work on nuclear non-proliferation.

“We are trying to work to reduce nuclear weapons [and] their footprint,” he said. “We certainly in the United States with Russia have made significant cuts in the arsenal.

“The president has talked about trying to go further, ultimately going to the goal of, ideally, a nuclear-free world, a nuclear weapon-free world.”

Moniz said Trump and other White House hopefuls are causing concern overseas.

“We have heard many comments about many statements made in this campaign,” he said of America’s allies.

The White House on Thursday also blasted Trump’s remarks.

“Frankly, it would be catastrophic were the United States to shift its position and indicate we support somehow the proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional countries,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.

Obama on Thursday insisted the U.S. would help Asia curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

Trump said Japan and South Korea could better protect themselves with their own nuclear weapons than relying on the U.S.

“We have nuclear arsenals which are in very terrible shape,” he said. “They don’t even know if they work.”