The first presidential debate was a maelstrom of chaos and finger-pointing that painted a grim future for this election. Both Trump and Hillary were caught in a few mistruths, but Donald Trump issued perhaps some of the most blatantly obvious lies he has ever breathed. The topic involved global warming, and Hillary attacked Donald for his belief that global warming was merely a concept created by China in an attempt to steal manufacturing from the United States.
Trump initially took that position in November of 2012, when he sent out a tweet that outlined his suspicions of the Chinese government and global warming in general. Since that time, Trump has tweeted numerous times that global warming, or climate change, is nothing more than false scientific findings perpetuated by those trying to swindle the gullible United States into producing less. He often cites the temperature recordings for certain areas and claims that any lowering temperatures must automatically mean global warming is nothing but a myth.
Unfortunately, those tweets from Trump do nothing but show his true ignorance of the problem at hand. At first, it appeared that the Trump campaign had deleted the tweets in question after Trump came under fire from Clinton during the debate, but that has turned out to be false. That means that Trump and his campaign aren’t even willing to cover their tracks when they try to sell an obvious lie.
The fact of the matter is that global warming is something Trump doesn’t want to believe in, regardless of the vast majority of researchers who have presented undeniable evidence of its existence. At this point, trying to deny global warming would be no different than denying evolution or gravity. However, Trump has failed to educate himself on the issue because it goes against his narrative, and that is all that matters to him. Since the topic doesn’t fit what he wants, he has to redirect reality within his own mind so the topic can be forced to bend to his position, even if only for himself.
Trump is heavily invested in keeping the status quo of the world as it is, which means that he literally can’t admit that global warming is real without potentially causing himself to lose millions upon millions of dollars. Any real change in society would cause huge shifts in every market as people move from fossil fuels and other pollutants to more renewable and safe forms of energy. Even though that would lead to a better world for all, the majority of those in power don’t want such a revolution, and it would be a revolution.
If Trump were to win the presidency, it would be a huge blow against everything that global warming activists have fought for over the recent years. Nearly everything that Trump wants to do would lead to a world with the same problems that have already existed in the past, but under different names. He even claimed he would work to renegotiate the famed Paris Agreement, which essentially sets a limit for greenhouse gas emissions for sovereign nations. Those gases have been unequivocally linked to climate change, and their reduction and eventual elimination has to be the first step in repairing the damage already done to the Earth.
How Trump reacted to the confrontation about his lies is just a glimpse of what the American people can expect if he wins. A proper candidate for president takes the time to educate themselves on the issues at hand, including the severity and urgency of them. Trump has shown that he would do neither as President of the United States.