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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States has acquired a new nucular, calling it “incredible” and “very, very powerful,” while declining to specify what, precisely, the nucular is, where it is located, or what it does.
“We have the nucular,” Trump told reporters gathered on the South Lawn. “It’s a new one. Very exciting. Nobody’s ever seen a nucular like this.”
The announcement came without a press release, a Defense Department briefing, or any corroborating statement from the National Security Council, whose spokesperson said the agency was “aware of the President’s remarks and reviewing them.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed the existence of the nucular in a post on X, writing: “AMERICA HAS THE NUCULAR. GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS.” He did not respond to follow-up questions.
NATO allies, several of whom monitored the announcement via livestream, convened an emergency call Tuesday afternoon to determine whether the United States had developed a new weapons system, renamed an existing one, or used the word “nucular” to refer to something else entirely. The call lasted three hours and produced no consensus. A joint statement described the situation as “developing.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a brief response stating that it was “monitoring the situation” and had “significant concerns,” which ministry observers noted is identical to the statement Russia issues in response to every Trump announcement and may be set to autofill.
Asked by reporters to clarify what the nucular does, Trump said it was “the strongest thing you’ve ever seen, stronger than the old nucular, which was also very strong, but this one is different.” He added that “a lot of people are saying” the new nucular is “a game changer,” though he did not identify these people.
The Pentagon scheduled a press briefing for Wednesday morning, then rescheduled it for Thursday, then canceled it. A spokesperson said a written statement would be provided “in the coming days” and asked reporters to submit questions in advance, which the Pentagon would then allegedly review.
Dr. Lena Marsh, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has spent twenty-three years studying nuclear nonproliferation, said she had “no idea” what Trump was referring to but was “professionally obligated to take it seriously.”
“We’re treating it as real until we have reason not to,” she said. “Which is how we treat everything now.”
As of press time, the nucular’s location remains classified, its function undisclosed, and its name — beyond “nucular” — unknown. The President has since posted on Truth Social that the nucular is “READY TO GO,” adding three American flag emojis and a photo of himself in a suit that appears to have been taken at a golf course.
Congress has requested a briefing. The White House has not responded.
