Sen. Bernie Sanders isn't holding back on his criticism of President Donald Trump's environmental policies. The Vermont independent argues that recent climate rollbacks are essentially trading the planet's future for fossil fuel industry profits.

Climate Rollbacks Under Fire

Over the weekend, Sanders shared a New York Times report detailing how the Trump administration is dismantling federal climate change powers. His response was blunt: "Trump is selling out our kids' future so his fossil fuel billionaire friends can get even richer."

Sanders pointed to the scientific consensus, calling climate change an existential threat and demanding a transformation of the energy system away from fossil fuels toward sustainable alternatives.

What Trump Actually Did

The administration's moves have been sweeping. Trump signed an executive order requiring the military to purchase electricity from coal-fired power plants and committed $175 million to upgrade six coal facilities. The Tennessee Valley Authority postponed closing two aging plants. Coal company stocks jumped on the news.

But that's not all. The administration terminated the 2009 "endangerment finding," effectively stripping the EPA of its authority to regulate vehicle emissions. That reversal halts the push toward mandatory electric vehicles, which helps traditional Detroit automakers but hurts Tesla's regulatory credit business.

Trump also mischaracterized comments from Bill Gates about climate and poverty, declaring premature victory in what he called the "War on the Climate Change Hoax." Gates later reaffirmed his dedication to climate and public health work.

On inauguration day of his second term, Trump announced the U.S. would again withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, repeating his 2017 exit. The Biden administration had rejoined the accord with commitments to slash emissions by over 60% by 2035.