WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump indicated he did not fear a new arms race and warned the United States would match any move by another country to boost its nuclear arsenal, in a spectacular new foray into foreign policy.
His stunning -- and initially unexplained -- use of language reminiscent of the Cold War rocked the Washington establishment two days before Christmas, and left Americans baffled by the seemingly mixed messages Trump is sending Russia.
Trump began upping the nuclear rhetoric with a bombshell tweet Thursday calling for America to "greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."
Anti-proliferation campaigners and lawmakers were aghast at the saber-rattling talk, though some observers wondered how much stock to put into Trump's words -- and even whether they may be part of a deliberate strategy to bring about a promised rapprochement with Russia.
Matters were not helped after his aides struggled to come up with a coherent take on what Trump meant, leaving Americans scrambling to make sense of the president-elect's tweet which, as has often been the case since his election, landed without context or detail.
His remarks came hours after President Vladimir Putin declared Russia needs to "strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces," and a day after the president-elect met with Pentagon brass.
When asked for clarity, Sean Spicer, the incoming White House press secretary, said Trump would not tolerate other countries increasing their nuclear arsenal without responding.
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