Despite Obama-era climate regulation rollbacks and changes to environmental law, President Donald Trump is adamant he is an advocate for the environment.
During a campaign appearance in Jupiter, Fla., on Tuesday, Trump mentioned the Great American Outdoors Act he signed last month.
According to Trump, after he signed the act, lawmakers said to him, “This will make us and make you the number one environmental president since Teddy Roosevelt.”
He replied, “Huh, that sounds good, because I wasn’t going to do it. I figured, you know, let’s not do. But when they said that, there was like a challenge.”
Trump questioned why “does it only have to go back to Teddy Roosevelt” and not “from George Washington, right from the beginning.”
He declared himself “number one since Teddy Roosevelt,” adding “who would’ve thought Trump is the great environmentalist?”
Watch his comments below:
WATCH NOW: President Trump speaks in Florida about his administration's environmental record https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp https://t.co/8YpfYhGnap
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 8, 2020
Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to extend a ban on offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida until 2032, as IJR previously reported.
It would also expand the ban to Florida’s Atlantic coast and the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden weighed in on Trump’s decision.
“Just months ago, Donald Trump was planning to allow oil and gas drilling off the coast of Florida. Now, with 56 days until the election, he conveniently says that he changed his mind,” Biden said.
He added, “Unbelievable. You don’t have to guess where I stand: I oppose new offshore drilling.”
Just months ago, Donald Trump was planning to allow oil and gas drilling off the coast of Florida.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 8, 2020
Now, with 56 days until the election, he conveniently says that he changed his mind. Unbelievable.
You don't have to guess where I stand: I oppose new offshore drilling. https://t.co/oxfQNIymBh
Trump’s order comes less than a month after he approved oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as IJR previously reported.
He received harsh criticism from environmentalists after they claimed it would harm wildlife and the Arctic ecosystem.
The Trump administration received backlash from more than just environmentalists.
More than 20 states filed a lawsuit against the administration on Aug. 28 over its changes to how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is implemented, as IJR previously reported.
The rule was designed to speed up the permitting process for projects like oil pipelines and road expansions.
Trump has weakened Obama-era environmental regulations including those designed to reduce methane gas emissions from oil and gas fields and others targeting coal plants.
