White House Earth Day Message Praises Trump As President Who 'Finally' Follows Science

In an Earth Day message, Trump's White House touted his rollback on climate protections as a boon for the environment.

An Earth Day message from the White House praises President Donald Trump, a man who once claimed climate change was a hoax created by the Chinese, as the long-awaited president who follows science.

The press release sent out Tuesday, titled “On Earth Day, We Finally Have a President Who Follows Science,” lists an assortment of actions Trump has taken that the White House claims are actually good for the environment, despite every major conservation group saying the opposite.

By “pausing restrictive emissions rules for coal plants,” Trump has “accelerated responsible energy and infrastructure projects,” the release says. By clamping down on wind energy, Trump is “recognizing wind turbines’ detrimental environmental impact, particularly on wildlife, which often outweighs their benefits,” the release says, pushing the myth that wind turbines have any significant impact on bird populations.

“President Trump is protecting public lands,” the release states before explaining he’s “prioritized access to federal lands for energy development” ― something conservationists have said is an environmental nightmare.

On his first day in office, Trump signed a litany of executive orders to reverse existing climate policy. Those included withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate accords; declaring the nation’s first “energy emergency” to speed up fossil fuels permitting, nuclear power and mining; halting offshore wind development; and opening up Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the largest federally protected forest, to increased logging.