During the presidential term on Thursday During the debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, moderator and CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Trump what he would do to address climate change.
Bash noted that last year was the hottest year on record. “Communities across the country are facing the devastating impacts of extreme heat, worsening wildfires, more powerful hurricanes, and sea level rise,” she said, noting that Trump has vowed to roll back Biden’s climate initiatives. “But what steps will you take as president to slow the climate crisis?” Bash asked.
Trump avoided the question, choosing instead to speak about criminal justice reform and immigration. Bash asked him again. “38 seconds left. “What actions will you take as president to slow the climate crisis?”
“I want absolutely clean, clean water,” he said. “I want absolutely clean air, and we had it. We had H20.” (The “perfect” water line is something Trump has said before.) “For my four years,” he added. “I had the highest environmental numbers ever. My chief environmental officer gave me that statistic right before I went on stage.” (It’s unclear what Trump was talking about here, but he repealed dozens of environmental rules during his presidency.)
Biden, whose performance in the debate was viewed as generally lethargic, responded sternly. He said he had passed “the most sweeping climate change bill in history.”
“I don’t know where the hell he’s been,” Biden said. “Clean water? He’s done nothing for the environment.” Biden pointed to Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, which Biden has rejoined. “The only existential threat to humanity is climate change, and he’s done nothing about it,” he said. Trump, meanwhile, has claimed the accord would be a “rip-off” for the United States.
Biden’s final words were, “The idea that he claims to have the biggest heart here and is really concerned about pollution and climate – I’ve never seen any signs of that.”
