Democratic President Joe Biden elicited laughs from the audience of his recent speech on climate change after slyly referencing one of his predecessor's most infamously bizarre claims.
While addressing some of the most commonly debated factors about the topic of climate change, Biden slipped in a quip about former Republican President Donald Trump's 2019 claim that turbines used for generating wind power cause cancer.
Just in case you were wondering, that is not the case, as Biden jokingly confirmed in his speech.
See the video below.
President Biden jokes during speech on extreme weather costs and combatting climate change: \n\n\u201cI might add windmills do not cause cancer.\u201dpic.twitter.com/732tsfgNQB— The Recount (@The Recount) 1631656384
Biden's quip came during a wide-ranging speech in which he pointedly addressed the urgency of working to fight climate change and the question of whether it is caused by humans—a debate which has been settled for decades by all but a vanishingly small minority in the scientific community.
As Biden put it:
"We know what's causing climate change: human activity. This is not longer subject to debate."
He then mocked his predecessor's bizarre claim about wind turbines.
"And I might add: Windmills do not cause cancer."
Trump made the claim back in 2019 while addressing the Republican National Convention during a dinner.
Yes, Trump did just say windmill noise causes cancer https://bit.ly/2HXvi93\u00a0pic.twitter.com/eFeAV9C0s9— Newsweek (@Newsweek) 1554291900
Speaking about wind power in his remarks—in order to criticize his 2016 election opponent Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's for her clean energy proposals—Trump said:
"If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer."
Trump offered no evidence for either of these claims, both of which are false.
Trump then went on to claim wind turbines kill massive amounts of birds, which is also not true according to the Sierra Club.
Trump's audience laughed throughout his comments, suggesting they knew them to be ridiculous. But that of course did not stop many of his conspiracy-loving followers from believing them and adding them to their arsenal of ludicrous reasons to oppose even basic measures to fight climate change.
On Twitter, people loved Biden's sly dig at his predecessor.
If windmills cause cancer wouldn't box fans or ceiling fans cause cancer. Hmmm What do you think anti green energy advocates— Thunder (@Thunder) 1631656642
There\u2019s a reason why this guy hates wind power.https://twitter.com/reportingfromny/status/1284468272067497984\u00a0\u2026— John Powers (@John Powers) 1631656643
pic.twitter.com/y8EyrpK46K— Robert O'Mara (@Robert O'Mara) 1631656451
I love all the shade he slips in from time to time— \u00af\_(\u30c4)_/\u00af (@\u00af\_(\u30c4)_/\u00af) 1631656600
How to cast shade without naming an individual https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1437897212088967176\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/qX1BLSujfT— Maggie Jordan, @RepJoseOliva calls me a host body (@Maggie Jordan, @RepJoseOliva calls me a host body) 1631757758
Start your day with a giggle brought to you by #JoeBiden https://bit.ly/3yY7WGo\u00a0https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1437897212088967176\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\udf99\ufe0fHalli Casser-Jayne.com Podcast America (@\ud83c\udf99\ufe0fHalli Casser-Jayne.com Podcast America) 1631710114
Any idiot knows this but apparently not EVERY IDIOT. Tell daddy @DonaldJTrumpJr He should know this.https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1437897212088967176\u00a0\u2026— Duncan Scott (@Duncan Scott) 1631667711
He\u2019s been throwing some good shade lately. Keep it up.pic.twitter.com/dWp4awnYpp— M and M (@M and M) 1631671624
Big if true— Keith Edwards (@Keith Edwards) 1631656329
Biden's comments came during remarks in Arvada, Colorado as Democrats struggle to put together a bill addressing climate change amid pushback from energy-industry lobbyists as well as members of their own party.
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