I didn’t want this British video gem (see below) on our climate crisis denying President to go unnoticed here in the states. Feel free to share the video widely.
Trump sat down with Piers Morgan for an interview with Trump on Good Morning Britain and was asked about Prince Charles and his pleas to him for action on the existential threat that is climate change.
H/T to Grist for the find.
In the middle of President Trump’s controversial U.K. visit, he and Prince Charles were supposed to have a 15-minute sit-down for tea on Tuesday. Ninety minutes later, Trump left the meeting, reportedly after getting something between a lecture and a plea on the climate crisis.
Trump discussed the meeting with British media personality Piers Morgan on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday. Prince Charles has been famous for his environmental advocacy for decades. He has been warning about plastic pollution since at least 1970, and his efforts to raise awareness and funds for the environment have raised millions in funds and helped elevate the issue. (Harmony anyone?) Of the prince’s passion for the environment, Trump said, “I think it’s great, I want that.”
xDoes the US President believe in climate change?Trump says he discussed climate change with Prince Charles, who he believes is 'a very good person' who 'wants to have a world that's good for future generations'. pic.twitter.com/QNlXhiS1mO
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 5, 2019Molly continues:
Trump appears unconvinced that the U.S. is part of the problem. “I did say, ‘Well, the United States right now has among the cleanest climates there are based on all statistics.’ And it’s even getting better because I agree with that we want the best water, the cleanest water. Crystal clean, has to be crystal clean air.”
The president really likes this “crystal clean” line. Last year, at a rally in coal country in Charleston, West Virginia, he said: “I want clean air. I want crystal clean water. And we’ve got it. We’ve got the cleanest country in the planet right now. There’s nobody cleaner than us, and it’s getting better and better.”
Politifact checked out these claims and called them “mostly false.” No environmental ranking places the United States at the top of the list for cleanliness. We rank 29th in the world for water quality and 88th for air particulate matter, according to Politifact.
“Crystal Clean”. Expect to hear that line often as the GOP and their corporate overlords unleash their climate propaganda for 2020.