Miami Meteorologist Rips DeSantis' Climate Change-Denying Legislation Live On Air In Epic Rant

Miami meteorologist Steve MacLaughlin of NBC’s WTVJ tore into Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis' new legislation that removes references to climate change.

On May 15, DeSantis signed a controversial bill that bans power-generating wind turbines offshore and gives preferential treatment to the fossil fuel industry.

Critics say it deprioritizes Florida's climate change initiatives and ignores the real dangers of climate change effects on the state, including projections of rising seas, extreme heat and flooding, and increasingly severe storms.

MacLaughlin told viewers watching Saturday's weather report:
 

"On Thursday, we reported … that the government of Florida was beginning to roll back really important climate-change legislation and really important climate-change language."

He continued:

"In spite of the fact that the state of Florida over the last couple of years has seen record heat, record flooding, record rain, record insurance rates, and the corals are dying all around the state."

Without mentioning the Governor by name, MacLaughlin added that the "entire world is looking to Florida to lead in climate change, and our government is saying that climate change is no longer the priority it once was."

MacLaughlin posted his clip on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote in the caption, “Don’t Say Climate Change!”–a riff on the "Don't Say Gay" hate bill, or the "Parental Rights in Education" bill, that the Florida Governor signed in 2022 that banned teachers in the state from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms.

MacLaughlin continued in the caption:

"As Florida is on fire, under water and unaffordable, our state government is rolling back climate change legislation and language.

Here is the clip.

A graphic behind the Emmy-winning weather reporter indicated it was the "hottest April on record" and the 11th straight "hottest month".

MacLaughlin concluded the segment with an urgent message to viewers.

"Please keep in mind, the most powerful climate change solution is the one you already have in the palm of your hands—the right to vote," he said.

"And we will never tell you who to vote for, but we will tell you this: We implore you to please do your research and know that there are candidates that believe in climate change and that there are solutions, and there are candidates that don’t.”

Viewers applauded his bold message.

However, there was one thing MachLaughlin mentioned that raised eyebrows.

Last week, DeSantis, who suspended his GOP presidential campaign in January and endorsed former Republican President Donald Trump, wrote on X: 

"The legislation I signed today—HB 1645, HB 7071, and HB 1331—will keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state."

"We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots."

"Furthermore, we’re going to ensure foreign adversaries like China have no foothold in our state."

The bill goes into effect on July 1.