Story highlights "We could literally have a nuclear war with Vladimir Putin," Moulton said earlier in the week

Moulton went on to assail the Trump administration's relationship with Russia

(CNN) Rep. Seth Moulton doubled down Friday on recent remarks he made claiming a potential nuclear war with Russia was a possibility.

"That's right," the congressman told CNN's Poppy Harlow on "New Day" when asked to clarify the comment he made at the South by Southwest festival Tuesday.

"(R)ussia now says ... they will 'escalate to de-escalate,'" continued the Massachusetts Democrat. "They are willing to use nuclear weapons to de-escalate a conventional attack, and I think that the problem here is that we don't have a plan to deal with that."

At the festival in Austin, Texas, the former Marine Corps officer and member of the House Armed Services Committee first warned of potential nuclear conflict.

"We could literally have a nuclear war with Vladimir Putin," Moulton said, speaking on the podcast "Pod Save America."

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