Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he would “tear up the Green New Deal” on first day in office as president.
DeSantis’s words came in response to a question from CNN debate moderator Jake Tapper about whether he would do anything to address the underlying cause of climate change.
Tapper referenced how scientists have said in order to address the causes of climate change, carbon emissions needed to be cut and how 2023 was the “hottest year ever” reported.
“Governor DeSantis, here in Iowa, massive flooding has left farmers underwater,” Tapper began. “In Florida, rising seas threaten coastal cities. You have taken action in your home state to mitigate the problems of rising seas, but as president, would you do anything to deal with the underlying cause which scientists agree requires cutting carbon emissions?”
“So, on day one as president, we take Biden’s Green New Deal, we tear it up and throw it in the trash,” DeSantis answered. “It is bad for this country.”
DeSantis pointed to a need for having “reliable energy” continuing to reference President Joe Biden’s words from a news conference in Vietnam in which he claimed global warming was “more frightening than a nuclear war.”
“Joe Biden has said that global warming is worse than a nuclear war,” DeSantis said. “And, I’m just thinking to myself, ‘Well gee, John Kerry hasn’t given up his private jet, Obama hasn’t given up his Martha’s Vineyard seaside mansion. I haven’t seen Biden do anything to hold China accountable except making sure Hunter gets his money. So, these guys talk out of one side of their mouth and then they behave in another way.”
The Green New Deal was first introduced in 2019 by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and focused on cleaner transportation systems, funding for new technology in order to reduce the carbon footprint of humans, among many other things.
In the same year, the Senate blocked the deal, with all Republicans and four Democrats opposing it.
Ocasio-Cortez and Markey have attempted to reintroduce the Green New Deal several times.
