Trump’s Latest and Greatest Lies

And Why He’s Wrong

Donald Trump has been parroting the same lies about clean energy and climate change, proving every time he gets onstage that he’s out of his depth. Ahead of his speech on Wednesday, we’ve put together a guide to his lies and the facts that debunk them.

Trump’s Lie: President Biden is waging a “war on American energy” and raising energy costs. 

• Reality: Oil production in the U.S. recently hit an all-time high and is expected to continue breaking records in 2024. Plus clean energy sources like wind and solar are cheaper than costly and volatile oil, meaning that more clean energy coming online means prices will stay lower in the U.S., saving families money. 

Trump’s Lie: Electric vehicles (EVs) make us more dependent on China. 

• Reality: The results of President Biden’s clean energy plan speak for themselves: since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, dozens of companies have announced plans to manufacture EV battery components on American soil. In total, over 211,350 new clean energy jobs across 45 states and Puerto Rico have been announced, totaling $310 billion in new investments. Of the 211,350 new clean energy jobs, over 38,635 jobs are in the EV industry. The clean energy plan is specifically designed to eliminate our reliance on China for EV batteries and other components. 

Ironically, rolling back the clean energy plan, as Donald Trump and other Republicans have pledged to do, will only benefit China at the expense of American workers and consumers. Notably, the oil and gas industry relies heavily on components from China, including barite and steel, tying the United States to supply chains in China as long as we rely on oil and gas. 

The Inflation Reduction Act boosted domestic clean energy manufacturing, including electric vehicle manufacturing, and shifted private investment to the United States. The Inflation Reduction Act’s stringent Made in America requirements are bringing whole industries and supply chains back to the U.S. and our closest trading partners. The clean energy plan is specifically designed to eliminate our reliance on China for EV batteries and other components. Ironically, eliminating the clean energy plan, as Donald Trump and other Republicans have pledged to do, will only benefit China at the expense of American workers and consumers.  

Trump’s Lie: Energy costs were lower during Trump’s presidency because of his “drill, baby, drill” agenda.

• Reality: Oil and gas CEOs are taking advantage of global conflicts and an unstable global market to price gouge consumers. It’s working – they’re raking in multibillions in profits and blaming their profiteering on political instability. Voters don’t buy their lies either – when asked who they blame for higher energy prices, voters assign “a great deal” of blame to oil and gas CEOs (42%), and oil and gas companies generally (39%).

Trump’s Lie: If Trump had been reelected in 2020, he would have made the U.S. energy dominant within 6 months, allowing the U.S. to pay off its debt and lower taxes. 

• Reality: The U.S. was projected to be a net energy exporter in the 2020s before Trump took office. Trump failed to hold oil and gas corporations accountable – in fact, he cut their taxes and is now proposing another round of corporate tax cuts. Energy independence – or ‘dominance’ in GOP speak – is impossible while the United States is still tied to oil and gas, which is traded on the global market. Oil prices are inherently volatile; tied to the global market, supply, and the whims of foreign leaders. 

Trump’s Lie: New power plant regulations from President Biden’s EPA are helping China and costing the U.S.

• Reality: President Biden’s clean energy plan advances United States leadership in the production of critical clean energy sources like batteries and solar panels. It addresses the need to bring the production of vital strategic assets back onto U.S. soil. It’s about American jobs. The new power plant rules incentivize investment in domestic clean energy manufacturing, bringing jobs back home and building supply chains from resources we already have.

Trump’s Lie: Electric vehicles are killing America’s auto industry and are bad for auto workers.

• Reality: Studies that claimed EVs would require fewer jobs didn’t take into account the jobs required to produce individual battery cells, which holds the most potential for job creation. If batteries are manufactured in the U.S., which automakers are now incentivized to do because of tax credits in the IRA, then the transition to EVs could actually result in significantly more jobs. The UAW agreements with Ford, Stellantis, and GM also include strong protections for workers as the industry continues to move toward EVs. 

Trump’s Lie: Offshore wind turbines are killing whales: “in 50 years, one whale was injured by a boat, but the windmills have driven hundreds of whales onto shore”

• Reality: There is no evidence supporting the speculation that whales are being killed by offshore wind turbines. Trump is parroting a Big Oil-backed talking point. It is in the oil and gas industry’s direct interest to spread disinformation that will hinder climate solutions like offshore wind. Conservative entities, with financial backing from oil corporations like Exxon, Chevron, and Marathon are behind these attempts to deceive the American people in an attempt to continue their profiteering game, making billions more off the backs of working families. Right now, API and other industry lobbying groups are fighting to block protections for marine life in the gulf to allow oil and gas operations to move forward. Clearly, protecting sea animals isn’t a high priority for oil and gas. 

Trump’s Lie: Places with lots of EVs are already experiencing blackouts and brownouts every day due to the strain on the grid. 

• Reality: Additional EVs will not harm the grid. In the next few years, EVs will increase power demand only slightly, and, in reality, EVs – which are a highly flexible source of electric load – actually have the ability to improve, not degrade, power grid performance. Real-world evidence from states with a large number of EVs has demonstrated that EVs reduce electricity costs for all ratepayers, not just those who own EVs. This is because they help spread out the fixed cost of maintaining the electric system over a larger volume of electricity sales.

Trump’s Lie: President Biden is trying to ban gas-powered vehicles, gas stoves, and other household appliances. 

• Reality: President Biden has not proposed banning gas-powered cars, and no federal law or regulation mandates EVs for consumers. No one is forced to buy an EV. In fact, surging consumer demand for EVs means that auto companies are already building far more EVs than are needed to comply with any state or federal climate pollution standards. For many years to come, the vast majority of new vehicles sold in the U.S. will continue to be gas-powered. Investments in electric vehicle manufacturing, tax incentives for people purchasing EVs, and increased production of EVs by automakers are empowering consumers to choose what’s right for their families. 

Trump’s Lie: Wind energy is “50 times more expensive” than fossil fuels. 

• Reality: Reliance on toxic fossil fuels tether the United States to foreign actors and wealthy CEOs who can price gouge the cost of oil and gas on a whim. Unlike oil and gas, clean energy sources like wind and solar energy won’t ever run out and will provide a secure and stable energy supply long into the future. Solar and wind are the cheapest energy sources available and getting cheaper every year. Studies say that Biden’s affordable clean energy plan will reduce energy bills for everyday consumers by $1,000 each year, and clean cars standards are expected to save families $900 at the pump. 

Trump’s Lie: California is in a “man-made” drought caused by Democrats’ policies, resulting in water rations that mean Californians “generally speaking, don’t smell so good.”

• Reality: California’s drought is a result of extreme heat. While Trump’s claim that environmental regulations cause the drought is incorrect, he’s right that the extreme heat is due to man-made climate change. As for water rationing, California does not have mandatory restrictions on shower times. 

Trump’s Lie: Democrats caused California wildfires with poor forest management, and Trump would have fixed it Governor Newsom had let him: “Wouldn’t it be nice if you had dampened floors? You wouldn’t have forest fires. So we’ll work on that, too. But I couldn’t convince this guy Gavin to do it because he’s an environmental maniac only for political reasons.”

• Reality:  Increasingly frequent and severe wildfires in California are a result of hotter and drier fire seasons caused by climate change. While keeping forest floors “damp” may not be a feasible solution to address fires, California does have policies already in place for forest land management.

Trump’s Lie: Electric boats will force people to make a choice between death by shark or electrocution. 

• Reality: Just… no. (People have been powering boats with electricity for over a century with zero known deaths by electrocution.)