Donald Trump has said America must expand and strengthen its nuclear weapons.
In a tweet, Trump appeared to suggest the US should enlarge its arsenal in response to other nationsâ nuclear programmes.
The President Elect wrote: âThe United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.â
The missive provoked a fierce response on social media in the US and the UK. âWell, weâve had a good run,â actor Mark Gatiss wrote.
A spokesperson for Trump later said the tweet was referring to the need to prevent nuclear proliferation.
Trumpâs tweet came just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the country to reinforce its military nuclear potential.
Speaking to mark his militaryâs achievements in 2016, Putin said the armyâs preparedness has âconsiderably increasedâ and called for continued improvement that would ensure it can âneutralise any military threatâ.
âWe need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems,â Putin said.
He added: âWe must carefully monitor any changes in the balance of power and in the political-military situation in the world, especially along Russian borders, and quickly adapt plans for neutralising threats to our country.â
Trumpâs startling words come after a day of meetings with military officials to discuss the defence budgets.
Attendees to Trumpâs estate near Palm Beach, Florida, included Lieutenant General Jack Weinstein, deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration for the US Air Force.
And his comments came one day after meeting with incoming White House national security adviser Michael Flynn, the Associated Press reported.
But Thursdayâs declaration represents a departure for Trump who had previously told CNNâs Anderson Cooper: âI donât want more nuclear weaponsâ, adding: âWe canât afford it anymore.â
The Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation, has estimated there are more than 15,000 nuclear weapons around the world.
The US and Russia possess 93 percent of them.
Hillary Clinton, Trumpâs failed opponent, repeatedly cast the Republican as too erratic and unpredictable to have control of Americaâs nuclear arsenal.
And former nuclear missile launch operators also wrote that Trump lacks the temperament, judgment and diplomatic skill to avoid nuclear war.
In March, Trump refused to rule out dropping a nuclear weapon on Europe.
In a Town Hall interview with MSNBCâs Chris Matthews, the then candidate said he would be âthe last one to use nuclear weaponsâ.
But when asked whether he would attack Europe or the Middle East with nukes if he felt it necessary, Trump said he was ânot going to take it off the tableâ.
Matthews: âYou might in Europe?â
Trump: âNo. I donât think so.â
Matthews: âWell just say it: âI will never use a nuclear weapon in Europe.ââ
Trump: âI am not taking cards of the table. Iâm not going not use nukes. But Iâm not taking any cards of the table.â
At the time, Clinton said she did not think Trump âeven studies or cares to understandâ foreign policy.
Reaction to Trumpâs tweet was perhaps predictably bleak. Many people highlighted the timing of his declaration.
GMB presenter Piers Morgan asked: âWhatâs more dangerous - Trump wanting to strengthen US nuclear deterrent, or [Jeremy] Corbyn saying heâd never use ours?â