Trump says he would send nuclear submarines to go 'up and down' Russia's coast to pressure Putin

• Donald Trump on Monday suggested the US deploy nuclear submarines to put pressure on Vladimir Putin.
• He suggested the submarines ply a route "up and down" the Russian coast.

Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US should put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin by sending its nuclear submarines to ply the Russian coast.

"I listened to him constantly using the n-word, that's the n-word, and he's constantly using it: the nuclear word," Trump said during an appearance on Fox Business, referring to his talks with Putin during his presidency.

"And we say, 'Oh, he's a nuclear power.' But we're a greater nuclear power. We have the greatest submarines in the world, the most powerful machines ever built," he told the host Stuart Varney.

"You should say, 'Look, you mention that word one more time, we're going to send them over and we'll be coasting back and forth, up and down your coast," Trump said. "You can't let this tragedy continue. You can't let these, these thousands of people die."

The US has a fleet of 14 Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarines "designed specifically for stealth and the precise delivery of nuclear warheads," per the US Navy.

On February 27, Putin placed Russia's nuclear-deterrent forces on high alert in response to what he said were "illegitimate Western sanctions" imposed following his country's invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg — who served as national security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence during Trump's presidency — suggested that the US deploy all of its ballistic-missile submarines to see whether Putin was "bluffing."

Trump's latest proposition, however, appears to run counter to the US's approach of avoiding direct military intervention in Russia's war in Ukraine. For instance, President Joe Biden has ruled out maintaining a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which would most likely result in head-to-head clashes with Russian forces.

Trump has publicly expressed several suggestions on how to handle the war in Ukraine — including a proposal that the US put Chinese flags on its fighter jets to "bomb the shit out of Russia."