Trump’s post-truth era threatens the environment as much as democracy
Lies have not only fueled the recent riots, putting democracy at risk — it has fueled climate change, putting our Planet in peril.
As the sun set on the United States Capitol Wednesday night, electors had yet to certify Joe Biden’s presidential victory — a process that started around 1 pm and usually takes under 45 minutes.
The vote wasn’t only delayed by a group of conservative politicians, however; it was suspended by a pro-Trump mob, which literally stormed the Capitol Building, forcing a lockdown. The rioters were driven by baseless claims of election fraud from a lame-duck president.
These lies have not only fueled the recent riots, putting democracy at risk — they have fueled climate change, putting our Planet in peril. Even more frustrating is that Republicans are largely buying Trump’s lies and, thus, complacent to this kind of violence.
“What does it say to the nearly half the country that believes this election was rigged if we vote to not even consider the claims of illegality and fraud in this election?” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in his speech at the Capitol this afternoon.
But Cruz is missing the point: Trump’s lies are why so many Republican voters are fired up about the election in the first place. That Cruz and his bogus “Dirty Dozen” — 12 Republican senators that pledged to dispute the election results today — had to suspend talks as rioters broke into the Capitol is the irony of the day.
In an effort to “save democracy,” these senators fanned the very flames that threatened democracy. And the tragic parallel is that these are the same politicians that inject lies and doubt into climate talks—even as wildfires, hurricanes, or floods consume their home states.
Given the Republican party’s history of ignoring science and propping up misinformation, there’s little hope that its members will change their tune. With Trump unlikely to fade into the background, it’s concerning that GOP representatives and senators may never own up to the reality of, well, anything — and that includes climate change.
The Republican party has a choice ahead of them. They can continue to coddle Trump supporters by buying into conspiracy theories, lies, and anarchy. Or they can acknowledge reality and, with it, their duty to the country.
Late in the afternoon, with Congress barricaded in their offices and rioters making a mockery out of the Capitol Building, Trump finally broke his silence. He used a one-minute video message, not to condemn the violence he incited, but to push his baseless claims of election fraud… again.
“We had an election that was stolen from us — it was a landslide election, and everyone knows it,” Trump said in the video. The message was so counterproductive that Twitter initially slapped a new label on the tweet, disabling retweeting and liking the tweet “due to a risk of violence.” Twitter has since taken down the post.
Should politicians continue to defend Trump over truth, today’s happenings will be the first of many dark days ahead for the nation. Today it was violence in the Capitol. Tomorrow it will be climate change across the globe.
In both cases, ignorance and lies compound the crisis at hand.