It's well-documented that President Donald Trump doesn't like to read. Also well-documented is Trump's skepticism (and occasional outright denial) of the existence of climate change.
Those two traits converged today during a press conference where Trump announced plans for his administration to make it easier for infrastructure projects like pipelines to avoid environmental scrutiny.
When asked if he still believed climate change was a hoax, Trump responded by bragging about a book that called him an environmentalist:
"Nothing's a hoax. Nothing's a hoax about that. It's a very serious subject. I want clean air. I want clean water. I want the cleanest air, I want the cleanest water," Trump said. "The environment is very important to me. Someone wrote a book that I'm an environmentalist ... I'd like to get it. I have it in the other office. I'll bring it to my next news conference perhaps."
Watch it below:
The White House later elaborated on what that book is.
It's called Donald J. Trump: An Environmental Hero, a self-published book by one of Trump's former environmental advisors.
A hallmark of Trump's legislation has been rolling back regulations on manufacturing and infrastructure designed to slow the impact of climate change. He also withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, a landmark international pledge to counteract the global effects of the climate crisis.
But, sure, Russo's book seems legit.
People couldn't believe it was real.
Whatever it takes to keep the emperor from realizing he has no clothes.
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