By James J. Devine
As the world faces unprecedented changes, with the Earth warming faster than at any point in modern civilization, one thing remains constant: disgraced former President Donald Trump’s reckless refusal to acknowledge the reality of the climate crisis.
Even as extreme weather events disrupt lives and economies, the Republican nominee continues to dismiss climate change as a “hoax,” while pushing a dangerous, MAGA agenda that would gut vital environmental protections and destroy growing sustainable industries—industries that have fueled economic recovery and created thousands of jobs.
While Democrats are tackling the climate crisis with investments designed to protect both our planet and the jobs of the future, Trump is peddling conspiracy theories and pushing policies that threaten not only our environment but our economy.
Americans are demanding leadership that understands the urgent threats of our time, not a return to the reckless extremism that defined Trump’s presidency.
A History of Failure
Trump’s track record on climate and the environment speaks for itself. He spent his entire time in office dismantling climate policies, rolling back regulations on clean air and water, and cozying up to Big Oil while the rest of the world moved forward.
In 2017, he infamously pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, abandoning America’s role as a global leader in the fight against climate change.
This withdrawal signaled to the world that the U.S., under Trump, was not serious about addressing the greatest environmental challenge of our time.
Fast forward to today, and Trump is vowing to do it all again—gut environmental protections, undo President Joe Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and pull us out of the Paris Agreement.
Trump stunned some of the country’s top fossil fuel industry executives at his Mar-a-Lago Club recently when he said they should raise $1 billion to return the disgraced Republican to the White House, and vowed in exchange to immediately reverse dozens of environmental policies and stop new ones from being enacted.
Trump’s proposed rollback of the IRA, which has already spurred over 100,000 clean energy jobs, is a direct attack on the industries helping lead America’s economic recovery and energy transition. Instead of embracing the clean energy revolution, Trump wants to drag us backward into a world dominated by fossil fuels.
Throughout his presidency, Trump consistently denied climate science, mocking the very real and widely accepted findings about rising sea levels and global warming.
Trump has called climate change a “hoax,” and his administration weakened or wiped out more than 125 environmental rules and policies over four years.
According to the Washington Post, Trump once sarcastically said that rising sea levels would simply “create more oceanfront property.” Such ignorance would be laughable if the stakes weren’t so high.
The truth is, Trump’s climate denialism mirrors his administration’s disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite receiving ample warnings from health experts, Trump downplayed the virus, spreading misinformation and ignoring science.
His administration’s failure to mount a timely and effective response cost hundreds of thousands of lives—an utterly avoidable tragedy. Just as Trump ignored pandemic warnings, he continues to ignore the clear, urgent warnings of the climate crisis. The parallels between these two crises are striking and terrifying.
Trump’s Dangerous Agenda
While Democrats invest in clean energy and fight to lower energy costs for working families, Trump is using his platform to sow division and push dangerous policies. He’s promised to repeal the IRA—a move that would destroy the economic progress made in clean energy and renewable industries.
As Bloomberg reported, the IRA has been a game-changer, bringing in billions in investments and creating tens of thousands of jobs. Trump, however, wants to gut this progress in favor of outdated and polluting fossil fuels.
It’s clear Trump has no regard for the future of American jobs. He’d rather align himself with Big Oil and Gas executives—those who funded his campaign in exchange for policies that let them pollute with impunity—than support the emerging industries that are driving innovation and sustainability. Trump’s hostility to wind and solar power, his attempts to undermine renewable energy, and his commitment to the fossil fuel industry are a direct threat to the livelihoods of millions of Americans who work in these growing sectors.
America Needs Leadership, Not Extremism
At a time when the American people are looking for solutions to the climate crisis, Trump is doubling down on his anti-science extremism.
Republicans have falsely accused their opponents of a hostile attack on all American energy. However, under Democratic leadership, the United States has achieved record-breaking oil production, averaging nearly 13 million barrels per day last year, more than any other country ever.
ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies, the world’s largest oil and gas companies, reported their highest annual profits in 2022 and 2023.
Trump has made it clear that he’ll continue to ignore facts and sell out our future for the benefit of a few wealthy donors.
His dangerous agenda is not only out of step with the facts but with the will of the people. Poll after poll shows that Americans are increasingly concerned about climate change and want leaders who will take bold action.
America doesn’t need more conspiracy theories and reckless deregulation. We need leadership that understands the threat posed by climate change and takes it seriously. We need leaders who will fight to protect our planet, our economy, and our future—not a MAGA extremist who refuses to accept reality.
Donald Trump is a danger to the progress we’ve made and to the safety of our citizens. It’s time to move forward, not backward. The stakes couldn’t be higher.