"Trump Leans Into Climate Denialism"

"The former president is doing little to temper his stance on climate change as he makes a third run for the White House, say experts and supporters."

"Former President Donald Trump isn’t known for his subtlety, especially when it comes to climate change — which he has dismissed as both a “hoax” and a natural phenomenon that goes “up and down.”

But there have been times over the past eight years in which Trump has stepped softly on the issue.

During his presidency, the Trump team resisted calls to launch an all-out war on climate science, even as he took other steps to undercut it. And in the lead-up to the 2020 election, Trump went more than a year without maligning climate science on Twitter (now known as X) — which was unusual for him.

This time around, however, Trump doesn’t appear to be holding back.

The Republican frontrunner for president is again calling climate change a “hoax” after backpedaling on that language in 2018. He has lied repeatedly about renewable energy, including campaign speeches that blame whale deaths on offshore wind turbines. And he said last month that if elected he would be a “dictator for one day” in part so he could “drill, drill, drill.”"

Scott Waldman reports for E&E News January 4, 2024.

Source: E&E News, 01/09/2024