The U.S. is ceding ground on a vitally, existentially important issue to China under President Donald Trump's leadership, and according to a new breakdown from the New York Times, this is because he has turned it into "the world’s dumbest culture war."
Writing for the Times on Tuesday morning, Thomas Edsall observed that Trump has "an all-out assault on clean energy" since the start of his second term. Now, "he and his party are paying a significant political price while American consumers are stuck with the bill."
"Trump has severely, but not fatally, wounded the American renewable energy industry, which is falling further behind China. At the same time, he is doling out tax dollars by the millions to keep dilapidated coal-fired power plants open," Edsall wrote. "What gives?"
He added later: "The barrage of executive orders and memorandums Trump issued on Jan. 20, 2025, demonstrated the intensity of his prioritization of fossil fuels while gutting federal support of clean, renewable energy."
The targets of this early crusade from Trump were wide-ranging, targeting projects like offshore wind farms, electric vehicle tax credits, programs that disincentivize gas-powered cars and a litany of other Biden-era orders that sought to move the country away from dependence on "oil, gas, coal and other fossil fuels," while pushing new initiatives to drill in the Alaskan wilderness.
Aside from the benefits these renewable energies present for reversing the effects of climate change, they are also an increasingly cheap alternative to traditional fossil fuels at a time when energy costs are spiking at alarming levels. Other nations are now seeing a move away from fossil fuel vehicles as Trump's Iran war causes a prolonged oil price shock.
"That bill, according to one scholarly estimate, totals $1,508 per household since President Trump took office for the second time (in after-tax dollars). And as the president does not need reminding, that’s with the congressional elections six months away and the cost of living the voters’ top concern," Edsall added. "As if that were not enough, these same voters, when they fill up their cars, are confronting the costs of Trump’s choice to go to war with Iran, at a national average of $4.52 a gallon — that’s $90.40 for a 20-gallon tank."
Edsall further argued that "What makes Trump’s energy policies so egregious is that there is no credible justification for them," instead being driven by influence from oil industry donors, his own petty grievances toward clean energy and culture war-driven perceptions. He further cited writings from Michael Gerrard, "a law professor at Columbia who focuses on climate, environmental and energy law," to explain Trump's differing perceptions of fossil fuels and green energy.
"He sees the fossil fuel industry as central to American dominance, and its workers as the heart of his base; he loves to pose in front of coal miners, see here, and calls them to many of his bill-signing ceremonies," Gerrard wrote. "He sees fossil fuels as manly and renewables as woke."
"Where does all this leave the country?" Edsall concluded. "Stuck with a president committed to policies that amount to national self-sabotage, a man driven by personal grievance and reckless promises to campaign contributors, devoid of any real concern for America’s long-term energy needs."