Donald Trump has repeatedly said he is OK with more countries having nukes

Oct. 4, 2016, 7:38 p.m.

Donald Trump has repeatedly said he is OK with more countries having nukes

Seema Mehta

In a feverish exchange about falsehoods, GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence claimed that Democratic rival Tim Kaine was misstating Donald Trump’s position on nuclear proliferation.

Kaine said that Trump has said that more nations should have nuclear weapons.

“He never said that,” Pence said.

“He absolutely said that,” Kaine replied.

Trump has repeatedly said he was amenable to more nations having nuclear weapons, and that it was inevitable.

“If Japan had that nuclear threat, I’m not sure that would be a bad thing for us,” he told the New York Times in March, arguing that it would be a good counter force to North Korea.

He expanded on his views on CNN the same month.

“Can I be honest with you? It’s going to happen anyway. It’s going to happen anyway. It’s only a question of time. They’re going to start having them or we have to get rid of them entirely. But you have so many countries already, China, Pakistan, you have so many countries, Russia, you have so many countries right now that have them,” he said. “Now, wouldn’t you rather in a certain sense have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons?”