Wildfire smoke: Democrats warn of ‘life-threatening’ GOP ‘climate denialism’ amid haze
Naomi Lim
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EXCLUSIVE — Democrats are skewering 2024 Republican candidates over their environmental policies and positions on climate change as the country’s east coast chokes on smoke drifting south from Canada’s out-of-control wildfires.
In a 30-second video, the Democratic National Committee creates a split-screen between past comments from former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), all 2024 contenders, and apocalyptic scenes caused by the fires.
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WILDFIRE SMOKE MAP: TRACK MASSIVE HAZE IN REAL-TIME ACROSS THE US
“All of this with the global warming, a lot of it’s a hoax,” Trump says in the video. “It’s a hoax. I mean, it’s a money-making industry, OK?
“I’ve always rejected the politicization of the weather,” DeSantis adds.
DNC spokesman Ammar Moussa ripped MAGA Republicans for spending this week “focused on gas stoves, trivializing climate change, promising to ban abortion, and rolling back clean air protections, while virtually ignoring the reality of what’s happening outside Americans’ windows” as almost 130 million people grapples with poor air quality and the related health risks.
“We are seeing the life-threatening consequences of the Republican Party’s climate denialism and cozy relationship with Big Oil and special interests in real time, and it’s terrifying,” Moussa said. “President Biden and Democrats around the country know there is no time to waste in tackling the climate crisis with real action, and are leading the way by passing the most significant climate and green jobs legislation in the history of our country.”
The DNC also included comments from a televised Pence town hall this week, during which he contended the climate is not changing “as dramatically as the radical environmentalists like to present.” Instead, he asserted that “modest changes in temperature” over the next century can be countered by “American innovation.”
“I really do believe that we’ve got to make sure that whatever we do with regard to being stewards of the land and air and water cannot be done in a way that puts an undue burden on American families or American businesses,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that whatever we do doesn’t disadvantage the United States in competing on the world stage.”
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The DNC’s criticism comes after House Republicans tried to repeal Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and its $200 billion in renewable energy investments, including tax incentives and subsidies to encourage more reliance on clean, green energy.
“Not one Republican in either chamber voted for this historic investment to curb the devastating effects of climate change, and the extremist MAGA Republicans running for president would set out country back decades in what is an existential situation for the planet,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz told the Washington Examiner last month.