WASHINGTON, November 1. /TASS/. About 46% of US residents oppose President Donald Trump’s initiative to resume nuclear testing, 34% back the idea, and another 19% remain undecided, a YouGov public opinion poll shows.
Supporters of the Republican Party mainly favor Trump's initiative: 60% support resuming testing, 22% oppose it, and 18% gave no answer.
Among Democrats, 18% approved new nuclear tests, 65% opposed them, and 16% were undecided.
Independent voters mostly rejected the initiative: 25% of respondents in this group supported the tests, 42% opposed them, and 23% had no clear opinion.
Overall, 44% of Americans disapprove or tend to disapprove of Trump’s approach to nuclear weapons, 34% hold the opposite view, while 22% are undecided. Also, 56% of respondents said they opposed concentrating too much power over nuclear weapons in the hands of the president, while 24%, on the contrary, favored expanding presidential powers. Another 20% did not respond.
Meanwhile, 35% of Americans said that the US nuclear arsenal makes them feel safer, 24% were more concerned about nuclear weapons, 28% said they do not affect their sense of security, and 13% were undecided.
The poll surveyed 3,200 adults nationwide.
On October 29, Trump instructed the Pentagon to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing. He did not specify what type of tests he meant or whether they would involve detonating nuclear warheads.