Former President Donald Trump posted a preview of proposed talking points on climate change and energy ahead of Thursday’s debate, an unusual move before one of the most widely watched events before the November election.
On his social media network, Truth Social, the former president posted a screenshot of suggested talking points from Andrew Wheeler, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration. Although it is rare to get insight into a presidential candidate’s debate memo ahead of a debate, the bullet points were largely popular talking points that have been thrown at President Joe Biden before — hitting the White House for canceling oil and gas pipelines and stopping federal leases while increasing energy costs, for example.
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“Joe Biden is shutting down US energy, canceling pipelines, stopping federal leases,” one of the talking points reads. “We still need the energy. That means we are importing more energy from countries that aren’t our friends.”
However, the memo mentions that during Trump’s first term, emissions decreased, and it proposes a promise to continue to lower carbon emissions during a new Trump administration. The former president has previously claimed that climate change is a “hoax” and has promised to roll back the Biden administration’s regulations on fossil fuels.
During Trump’s first year in office, Wheeler touted the same statistic, even as the White House sought to roll back regulations to lower greenhouse gas emissions implemented under the Obama administration. Emissions were also dramatically reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when shutdowns forced the majority of civilians off the roads, subsequently decreasing air pollution.
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Ammar Moussa, the director of rapid response for Biden’s campaign, mocked the former president on X for posting the memo. “Thanks I guess,” he wrote.
However, it is likely Trump could stray far from the talking points given to him, as the president is known for speaking off the cuff during speeches and events.