President Donald Trump repeatedly denied reports Wednesday that he sought a tenfold increase in the nation's nuclear arsenal, saying of NBC News that "it's frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write."
"No, I never discussed increasing it," Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting in the Oval Office with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "I want it in perfect shape.
"That was fake news by NBC, which gives a lot of fake news lately.
"I think someone said I want 10 times the nuclear weapons we have right now," Trump added. "Right now, we have so many nuclear weapons.
"I want them in perfect condition, perfect shape. That's the only thing I have discussed."
NBC reported Wednesday that President Trump told national security leaders this summer that he wanted nearly a tenfold increase in the number of nuclear weapons held by the United States.
NBC cited "three officials who were in the room" — reporting that Trump's request came after a slide was shown during the briefing that detailed how the U.S. arsenal had steadily declined since the late 1960s.
President Trump told reporters that Secretary of Defense James Mattis was releasing a statement refuting the NBC report as "fake news."
"It was just mentioned that way," he said.
"It's frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write — and people should look into it."
Trump said that he wanted America's nuclear stockpile "absolutely perfectly maintained.
"When they said I want 10 times what we have right now, it's totally unnecessary, believe me," he added. "Because I know what we have right now.
"We won't need an increase. But I want modernization — and I want total rehabilitation.
"It's got to be in tip-top shape."
President Trump said that he and Trudeau would be discussing NAFTA — seeking to make the 1994 deal, which also includes Mexico, "fair to both countries."
"It's time, after all of these years — and we'll see what happens," Trump said. "It's possible we won't be able to make a deal and it's possible that we will.
"We have to protect our workers," he added. "And in all fairness, the prime minister wants to protect Canada and the people, too.
"I said we'd renegotiate. And I think Justin understands this: If we can't make a deal, it will be terminated — and that will be fine.
"They'll do well. We'll do well.
"Maybe that won't be necessary, but it has to be fair to both countries."
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