Biden: Trump is a 'climate arsonist' who doesn't grasp that 'damage from climate change is already here'
The fires raging in California, Oregon, and Washington are "hellish," Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Monday, and there will be more like them if President Trump is re-elected in November.
At least 35 people have died in the fires, which scientists and local leaders say are being exacerbated by climate change. Trump is a "climate arsonist" and "climate denier," Biden said, and has "no interest in meeting this moment" and doing something to slow down global warming. "We need a president who respects science," Biden declared. "Who understands that the damage from climate change is already here. Unless we take urgent action, it'll soon be more catastrophic."
Suburban voters are being courted by both Biden and Trump, and the president has claimed that if Biden wins, there will be chaos in neighborhoods across the country. Biden said that the real threat to the suburbs are wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. "If we have four more years of Trump's climate denial, how many suburbs will be burned in wildfires?" he asked. "How many suburban neighborhoods will have been flooded out? How many suburbs will have been blown away in super storms?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As Biden spoke, Trump was in California, meeting with state officials. He attempted to pin the blame for the fires not on extreme weather caused by climate change, but rather forest mismanagement; more than three million acres have burned in California this year, with most shrublands, grasslands, and oak woodlands, not forest lands, the Los Angeles Times notes. A majority of the forests in the state are owned by the federal government and managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Wade Crowfoot, Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) secretary for natural resources, told Trump that climate change is real, and "if we ignore that science and sort of put our head in the sand and think it's all about vegetation management, we're not going to succeed together protecting Californians." Trump responded, "Okay. It'll start getting cooler. You just watch." Crowfoot told Trump he wished "science agreed with you," and the president retorted, "I don't think science knows, actually."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
You Are Here: the new David Nicholls 'past-their-prime' romance
The Week Recommends 'Midlife disenchantment' gives way to romance for two walkers on a cross-country hike
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
The new powers to stop stalking in the UK
The Explainer Updated guidance could help protect more victims, but public is losing trust in police and battered criminal justice system
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Criminal trail?'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
EPA limits carcinogenic emissions at 218 US plants
Speed Read The new rule aims to reduce cancer-causing air pollution in areas like Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Strong Taiwan earthquake kills 9, injures hundreds
Speed Read At magnitude 7.4, this was Taiwan's biggest earthquake in 25 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
EPA sets auto pollution rule that boosts EVs
Speed Read The Biden administration's new rules will push US automakers toward electric vehicles and hybrids
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
More than 150 people dead following earthquake in Nepal
Speed Read The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue digging through rubble
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Nearly 1,000 birds dead in one night after striking building in Chicago
Speed Read The birds died after colliding with the McCormick Place convention center next to Lake Michigan
By Justin Klawans Published
-
At least 1 dead at Burning Man as thousands remain stranded from flooding
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Earthquake rattles Southern California as Tropical Storm Hilary hits
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published