Trump’s Crimes Also Include Climate Change
Sen. Bernie Sanders / US Senate

(May 31, 2024) — Yes. These are crazy times.

I don’t need to tell you about the outcome of Donald Trump’s criminal trial that is dominating the discussion right now.

Yes, Donald Trump denied his election defeat, peddled conspiracy theories, and converted the Republican Party into a cult of the individual.

Yes, Donald Trump is a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe, a homophobe, and a religious bigot.

Yes, Donald Trump is now a convicted felon who is just as unfit for office as he was before the jury announced its verdict.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

There are a million reasons Donald Trump should never be elected president again, but I am asking you today to turn your attention to one not getting wall-to-wall coverage on television.

Climate change.

As you read this, India is recording its hottest temperature ever — reaching 126 degrees Fahrenheit in New Delhi, an area of a population of 33 million people, almost 4 times the size of New York City.

At that temperature, the body loses the ability to cool itself, breathing rates increase, and dehydration becomes a critical issue. Consider that last fact alongside the reality that local governments are setting limits on water usage because of a shortage in the area.

So, yes. This is a very serious issue.

And in the midst of all that, understand that this is only early in India’s summer season, meaning there is a good chance that everything they are seeing today has a significant chance to become worse in the weeks to come.

So what does the weather in India mean in the context of Donald Trump and this election?

In Donald Trump’s first term as president, he withdrew from the Paris Agreement, he weakened clean energy regulations and fuel economy standards, supported multiple pipeline projects, expanded drilling offshore and on public lands, removed climate information from government websites, and appointed judges and agency leaders who undermined our ability to move toward sustainable energy and protect the environment.

But if you think his first term was bad, just wait until his second…

Last month, Donald Trump hosted oil executives at Mar-a-Lago and promised them that if they could raise $1 billion for his election campaign, he would rollback all of the environmental progress made during the Biden administration and then go even further.

He said $1 billion would be a “deal” for them with all the money they’d save and make during this second term.

That means not only all of the work we have done in trying to transform our energy systems away from fossil fuel will be undone but that, essentially, the global fight against climate change will be over — and lost. If the U.S., the second largest carbon emitter in the world surrenders to the oil industry, why would China and every other country in the world not do the same?

Folks, let me be as clear as I can be: if Donald Trump wins this November, the fight to protect the very health and habitability of our planet for future generations is over.

If Donald Trump is elected, our kids and grandchildren are going to continue to see rising global temperatures that will lead to shorter lifespans and worse mental health; increased instances of food and waterborne disease; human and animal diseases; increased exposure to wildfires that will mean more heart and lung diseases and flooding during extreme weather events that will make it harder for health care services to get to those who need it.

It will mean substantially increased risk of wars, social unrest, and mass migrations. It will mean an estimated $100 trillion in lost global economic activity with more than 100 million people thrown into extreme poverty.

Those are some of the very real stakes in this election.

So yes, we must defeat Donald Trump. But we must do more. We must elect progressives everywhere who understand the very real risks of a changing climate and are committed to doing everything they can to transform our energy systems to save the planet.

That is going to be something I am working on between now and November, and I can use your help to support my travel and other work to elect progressives this fall.