Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is not mincing words when it comes to the climate crisis. In a fiery post on X Thursday, the Vermont Independent took aim at President Donald Trump's pro-fossil fuel stance and his repeated claims that climate change is a hoax. With much of the country sweltering under extreme heat, Sanders laid out the grim reality.
Sanders pointed to record-breaking temperatures across the globe, including Europe's recent heatwave, which set "all-time heat records in seven countries" and "killed more than 10,000 people." He noted that the Western U.S. "saw its warmest winter on record" and the nation experienced the "worst spring drought in recorded history." The heatwaves, he said, have "exposed hundreds of millions of Americans to dangerous levels of heat."
It's not just the heat. Sanders also highlighted wildfires raging in Canada and the U.S., along with hazardous air quality in major cities. "It is not normal for Detroit, Minneapolis, and Chicago to have some of the most dangerous air quality in the world," he said. "Climate change is not a hoax. It is reality."
The senator didn't stop at the weather. He renewed his criticism of Trump's cozy relationship with oil companies, accusing the President of prioritizing "short-term profit" for his "billionaire friends in Big Oil" over the future of America's "kids and grandkids."
Sanders urged Americans to "reject…Trump's lies" about the climate crisis and the "greed of the fossil fuel industry" by transitioning to clean energy. "When we do that, we cut carbon emissions, reduce energy bills, and create millions of good union jobs," he said.
The push for clean energy comes as a recent report from the Minneapolis-based nonprofit BlueGreen Alliance found that the Trump administration's anti-clean-energy stance has cost the clean-energy, manufacturing, and industrial sectors nearly $83 billion in losses. That's a hefty price tag for policies that favor fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) launched the MyFirstEV program, offering an instant $3,500 discount on new electric vehicles for first-time EV buyers, plus a $1,750 discount on used EVs. It's a state-level move to boost electric vehicle adoption, even as federal policies head in the opposite direction.
The contrast couldn't be starker: Sanders and Newsom are pushing for a greener future, while Trump doubles down on oil. With temperatures rising and air quality falling, the debate over climate policy is only getting hotter.
