A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE is downplaying the controversy over his tweet about America's nuclear arsenal.

Kellyanne Conway said Thursday that Trump wasn't making any policy shifts after he tweeted that America should expand its nuclear capability.

“I don’t think the tweet was groundbreaking in that regard,” Kellyanne Conway said on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” Wednesday. "He’s not trying to change a policy through Twitter. He’s not trying to project what he will do as president.”

“It seems that President Obama himself has invested [and] has called for an upgrade in our capabilities,” she added. "I read in one or two articles up to $1 trillion is the price tag. President Obama, President-elect Trump, everyone shares the same, I think, core value, and their first duty is to try to keep us all safe.”

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Conway said Trump’s remarks reflect a realistic assessment of America’s place in the world.

“In a perfect world, Rachel, we wouldn’t have any nuclear weapons,” she said. "But it’s not a perfect world. In fact, it’s a very dangerous world.

“I think all the president-elect is saying is that we have to be able to keep ourselves safe and secure, and when others stop building their nuclear weapons, then we’ll feel more secure in that regard.”

Trump on Thursday tweeted that the U.S. “must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”

Trump spokesman Jason Miller clarified later that day the president elect was “referring to the threat of nuclear proliferation and the critical need to prevent it,” especially among rogue state and terrorists.