White House Ripped After Making Bonkers Earth Day Claim About Trump And 'Science'

President Donald Trump is a pretty well-known science denier so it's perhaps no surprise that the White House was soundly mocked after sharing a press release for Earth Day on Tuesday claiming that "We Finally Have a President Who Follows Science"—which is quite something given so many federal workers from health and science agencies have been fired in recent weeks.

The White House claimed that Trump is "leveraging environmental policies rooted in reality to promote economic growth while maintaining the standards that have afforded Americans the cleanest air and water in the world for generations."

Among other things, the White House said Trump is "supporting cutting-edge technologies like carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy, and next-generation geothermal, the Trump Administration is ensuring America leads in both energy production and environmental innovation — producing the cleanest energy in the world."

The White House also claimed that the administration's "proactive forest management policies protect America’s forests, reduce catastrophic wildfires, and promote sustainable land use," that "pausing restrictive emissions rules for coal plants and revising the National Environmental Policy Act implementation have accelerated responsible energy and infrastructure projects," and that Trump "is pushing back on unfair trade practices that harm the environment and undercut U.S. producers and exporters."

The administration said its members are "reducing reliance on China’s high-pollution industries, ensuring the U.S. leads by example with cleaner production and responsible global stewardship"—which his tariffs aren't exactly helping.

Let's look at just a couple of examples that show Trump doesn't actually "follow science" at all.

Last year—and not for the first time—Trump downplayed climate change and rising sea levels during an interview on Fox News wherein he claimed that rising seas just means there will be "more beachfront property."

Trump's remarks conveniently ignored that estimates from the National Ocean Service suggest that sea levels along the U.S. coastline are poised to increase by 10 to 12 inches in the next thirty years, mirroring the rise observed over the past century.

This uptick is expected to amplify the severity of storm surges, flooding, and coastal damage, potentially displacing both wildlife and communities, as noted by National Geographic. Studies indicate that as many as 13 million American homes could face repercussions from rising sea levels by the year 2100.

The projection for a substantial increase in sea levels along the American coastline indicates a looming threat for the 40 percent of the population residing in these vulnerable areas, heightening the risk of flooding—so "more beachfront property" is the least of anyone's concerns.

Oh, and we should add that it's difficult to take this press release seriously when Trump has a long history of climate change denial and has claimed that global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. (He denied this during a 2016 presidential debate despite evidence to the contrary.)

It's also worth looking at Trump's overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrates yet again that he cares little for science.

Five years ago, the United States was grappling with the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country had entered shutdowns the month prior that had severe economic consequences, leaving businesses and industries on the brink of collapse.

Well over 1.2 million Americans have died since the pandemic began. Many of these people could have been saved had Trump's administration taken the situation seriously from the start.

Many prominent Trump surrogates have downplayed the fact that Trump raged against shutdowns, attacked healthcare professionals, frequently undermined the efforts of the White House COVID-19 Task Force, and openly pushed conspiracy theories about the virus and the vaccination campaign that were embraced by his followers, hindering the country's ability to rebound from the pandemic's economic shock.

According to a 2021 Lancet commission tasked with assessing Trump's health policy record, the U.S. could have prevented 40% of Covid-19 deaths if its death rates had aligned with those in other high-income G7 countries. The commission stated that Trump "brought misfortune to the USA and the planet" during his four-year tenure.

The commission emphasized the increasing evidence that Trump's rollbacks of regulations led to a rise in death and disease. From 2016 to 2019, annual deaths related to environmental and occupational factors surged by more than 22,000, reversing a trend of steady decline.

People saw right through that press release and criticized the White House as a result.

The White House's press release came after the administration denied reports it will attempt to revoke green groups’ tax-exempt status.

Environmental groups grew increasingly alarmed after Trump floated the idea of revoking Harvard University’s tax-exempt status last week in retaliation for the school’s defiance of his administration’s demands.

Many major environmental organizations also operate as 501(c)(3) nonprofits, meaning donations to them are tax-deductible. Stripping that status could significantly undercut their fundraising.

When asked Tuesday whether the president was considering broader actions targeting nonprofits, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she would follow up with the policy team.