The Festering Rot that is Corruption in the Trump Administration

Despite promises to "drain the swamp" Trump and his administration have been defined by ethics violations and rampant corruption. On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly vowed to end government corruption. Instead he has made it worse in ways that most could not have imagined.

Trump has been tied to shady deals, questionable financial partners, hush money, conspiracy, tax evasion, illegal payments, and conflicts of interest.

Although Trump has indicated that he does not trust his own government (DOJ, FBI, intelligence services, government scientists, etc) a report at the end of last year concluded that most Americans share the view that the White House is the most corrupt institution in government.

Corruption in the White House

Allegations of corruption against members of the Trump administration are ubiquitous. Headlines echo a resounding chorus of opinions and analyses that have all come to similar conclusions. According to Newsweek, Trump sits atop the most corrupt administration in US history  Zephyr Teachout, an expert on government corruption and a Fordham University law professor said Trump is at the head of, "the most corrupt presidency and administration we’ve ever had".

Reflecting on the Trump administration Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson concluded, "Never have we seen such utter chaos and blatant corruption". The New York Times described Trump as a "scandal ridden scoundrel", and Time described a White House "devoid of integrity". The Washington Post said, "Trumpism is rotten to its core and the stench of corruption is everywhere".

Presidential historian Robert Dallek says there is something nefarious that distinguishes the Trump presidency. Dallek is quoted as saying, "no American leader has acted with more unadulterated self-interest as Trump." According to Dallek Trump is not just allowing corruption he is encouraging it. "The fish rots from the head," Dallek said.

Resignations

In the first 6 months the Trump administration was plagued with complaints of ethics violation. During this time 6 members of his cabinet were accused of misusing public funds. Both Brenda Fitzgerald, the head of the Center for Disease Control and Tom Price, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, were forced out due to financial improprieties. Complaints were also leveled against Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury and Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

In the most recent 6 month period Trump lost 5 cabinet secretaries. Former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt was forced to resign because of a number of ethics controversies. Pruitt will be remembered for enfeebling the EPA, but most of all he will be remembered for his deregulatory agenda and its deleterious impact on the health of Americans

David Shulkin the former Secretary of Veterans Affairs was forced to leave due to ethics violations and misuse of taxpayer dollars. Tom Price Secretary of Health and Human Services resigned in the midst of a controversy over his use of private jets for government travel.

Most recently Ryan Zinke, was forced to resign his post as Secretary of the Interior due to ethics investigations. Zinke will be remembered for selling off rights to huge swaths of public lands to fossil fuel interests.

Rob Porter, White House staff secretary, resigned over multiple allegations of domestic abuse. Others have resigned because they strongly disagree with Trump's policy decisions. Gary Cohn resigned over the tariffs. James N. Mattis, often referred to as the only adult in the White House, resigned recently in the wake of Trump's decision to pull troops out of Syria and Afghanistan. White House ethics lawyer Stefan Passantino also left the Trump administration. 

Indictments and incarceration

Although the Mueller probe is not over several former Trump employees have been indicted and a few are serving time.  Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos was arrested, he pleded guilty and was sentenced to prison. Sam Patten, a Republican operative and lobbyist pleded guilty to not registering as a foreign agent.

Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chair, was indicted and convicted on eight counts with more to come. He will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. Former Trump campaign aide and Manafort’s longtime junior business partner, Rick Gates was indicted on similar charges to Manafort but unlike Manafort he has cooperated and received a plea deal. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, pleded guilty to making false statements to the FBI and he is awaiting sentencing.

Trump’s former lawyer and "fixer" pleded guilty to 8 counts including campaign finance violations where Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator. Cohen received a three year sentence. "The president is clearly guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors," said New York Times columnist Bret Stephens

Trump cheated to win the White House but the tentacles of corruption extend well into his presidency and may have even had a role in his stacking of judges on the Supreme Court.*

Russia

We have seen a number of indictments against Russians. A total of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies have been indicted as have Richard Pinedo, Alex van der Zwaan, Konstantin Kilimnik, and 12 Russian GRU officers.

Trump's son-in-law and top advisor Jared Kushner may be next. Kushner withheld information about his assets and his ties with Russian oligarchs. Trump himself is known to have shared intelligence with Russian diplomats and the evidence for collusion with Russia to win the 2016 election is expected to be among the findings contained in the Mueller report.

It is clear that the investigation is getting ever closer to Trump himself. It is almost certain that when the Mueller probe is released Trump and his inner circle will be exposed for their criminal malfeasance.

Why do we not see more Republicans publicly calling the president on his corruption? Perhaps Trump has acquired compromising information on them in the same way that Russia allegedly has kompromat on Trump.

On December 19th the Trump administration notified Congress that it will remove sanctions on a few companies punished for interfering with the internal affairs of Western governments and activities in Syria and Ukraine.  As reported by Newsweek one of the beneficiaries is the Russian bank VTB - frequently called Putin's piggy bank - which was allegedly going to finance Trump's now infamous tower in Moscow. As revealed by Cohen the negotiations for this project continued right up until June 2016, after Trump had already become the Republican Party’s nominee. According to BuzzFeed Trump’s company planned to give Putin a $50 million penthouse in the building.

So what

The situation is serious for both the president and this administration. As explained by Wired: "Trump faces a legal assault unlike anything previously seen by any president—at least 17 distinct court cases stemming from at least seven different sets of prosecutors and investigators. (That total does not count any congressional inquiries, nor does it include any other inquiries into other administration officials unrelated to Russia.)"

Corruption may end up being both the defining feature of Trump and his undoing. But what does this mean for the United States? The range of direct and indirect effects of corruption include the erosion of trust, impeding economic growth and undermining political stability. It leads to inefficiency and reduced government effectiveness. It also erodes the institutions of democracy. 

Some say that corruption is part of life and we should learn to live with it.  However, this view ignores the fact that corruption is a cancer that often kills its host. In a Business Insider op-ed, James Traub argued that America has become "decadent" and he explains how this is tied to corruption. He concludes that this is, "the last stage before collapse."

Impeachment

Trump's corruption was already widely known before he was elected and concerns intensified early in his presidency. These fears have been vindicated. The conviction of Cohen impugns Trump in campaign finance violations.  Trump has also been found guilty of misusing funds from his charity.  But this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Trump's exposure includes but is not limited to collusion with Russia, obstruction of justice, treason, breaching the emoluments clause of the Constitution, shady financial entanglements, nepotism, and numerous conflicts of interest.

Trump has power, but there are also checks and balances to that power. As explained in a New York Times opinion piece, it is unlawful for the president to exercise his power corruptly.  Federal statutes subject individuals to criminal penalties for the crime of obstruction of justice when they "corruptly" or by "any threatening letter or communication" try "to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice". In this this context, corruptly implies improper use that is "evil" or "wicked".

Once the Mueller probe is released Republican lawmakers can be expected to break ranks in a modern day reenactment of the Ides of March. 

* Deutsche Bank loaned Trump over $2.5 billion since 1998. The bank was fined $630 million for its role in a $10 billion Russian money laundering scheme in 2017. Justice Anthony Kennedy ceded his place on the Supreme court paving the way for Brent Kavanaugh. It is interesting to note that Justice Kennedy's son is a banker at Duetsche Bank.

Updated December 24, 2018 

Beware the Ides of March: Climate Denial and Trump's Demise

Trump's climate denial is part of a maniacal litany of lies that may help bring his presidency to an end. The facts are beginning to coalesce and they are painting a convincing portrait of a corrupt and dishonest president with delusions of grandeur.

Trump resists as best he can maligning truth tellers and spouting self-serving narratives. He savages fact based sources of information like science and the media, while trying to portray himself as a victim of a "witch-hunt". However, two reports strike at the heart of this pessimal presidency, one has already been released and the other, the most damning of all is expected to drop in 2019. To all but his minions, Trump's predicament is a direct corollary of his own actions.

It is hard to talk about Trump's fall from grace because he has never been popular. Even if you discount Russian involvement, in the 2016 election he lost the popular vote by a record setting 3 million ballots. His victory was met by widespread protests and his 60 percent disapproval means that a solid majority of Americans think he is doing a poor job as president.

After losing the House of Representatives in the midterm elections of 2018 things are rapidly going from bad to worse. The full extent of Trump's corruption is slowly coming into view including evidence of collusion with Russia emerging from the yet to be released Mueller probe.

Another report also concerns this president. In a powerfully ironic twist of fate, a report was released on Black Friday that may prove to be instrumental in Trump's demise. On November 21 Trump tweeted about a cold spell as though this contradicted the science of global warming.

Trump's tweet disparaging climate science was timed to coincide with the release of a damning climate report from his own government. After casting aspersions on global warming he quietly released the report on the busiest shopping day of the year in the hopes that the public would not notice.

Trump's efforts to hide the research seems to have backfired foreshadowing Mueller's report. Trump has reason to be concerned about the climate report because it flatly contradicts his climate denial and makes it emphatically clear that global warming is caused by human activity. It also says this is primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels. This report follows on the heels of others including the latest from the IPCC. These studies expose the gulf that separates the Trump administration's climate revisionism from the facts.

Trump dismissed his own government's report stating, "I don't believe it". Others in his administration were slightly more sophisticated in their efforts to undermine the study. Some took a page from the president's own playbook and lied about its methodology and conclusions.

In the Washington Post interview by Josh Dawsey, the president made a series of statements that are either incoherent, factually incorrect or both. When asked about why he is skeptical about his government's report on climate change he touted his "high level of intelligence," (as though saying it actually makes it so). He also deployed his double-down deception strategy by repeating the unrelated lie that the president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, told him that wildfires could be prevented by "raking," (Niinisto says this never happened).

Trump's interview went from dishonest to surreal when he talked about dirty air from other countries, small oceans, and the possibility of a coming ice age. Many people have described Trump as an "idiot", this interview makes it is easy to see why. Texas A&M University atmospheric sciences expert Andrew Dessler told the Post that Trump’s remarks were "idiotic".

Trump denies the veracity of climate change for political purposes. However this comes at a price. His refusal to accept the facts about global warming lends credence to the widespread perception that he is an unrepentant liar who makes things up whenever he encounters inconvenient truths.

In the context of Trump's mendacity the implications of this report extend way beyond the hallowed halls of power in Washington. His actions have tragic real-world consequences.

"Climate change is not a political football. It’s an existential threat to our nation and our people," says NRDC president Rhea Suh. "It’s time for every public servant, and every citizen, to read this report and think about what it means for our prosperity, our security, and our very way of life. It’s time for those who represent us at the state, local, and federal levels to lead the fight against climate change or get behind those who do. It’s time to cut our carbon pollution today so our kids don’t inherit climate catastrophe tomorrow."

Trump's corruption is hardly a secret. We already know from a New York Times investigation that Trump lied about being a self-made millionaire. It also appears that he is guilty of tax evasion. Once Democrats assume control of the House at the start of 2019, it is expected that they will subpoena his tax records. Many predict that we will see more tax evasion and evidence of other even more serious criminal malfeasance.

The naive optimism of those who once asked that Trump be given a chance is being replaced by the painful realization that this president really is as bad as he appears and probably even worse. Trump is on the attack launching salvo after salvo on Twitter.  He is also pulling all the levers afforded by executive privilege.  However, the situation continues to deteriorate for the president as the facts are coming to light and a growing number of people are lining up to oppose him. In an unprecedented move to curtail anti-Trump sentiments a federal ethics agency warned civil servants not to mention "resistance" or "impeachment".

Trump is an international outcast who has been isolated from the beginning of his presidency. Over time his isolation has only increased. Climate denial has factored heavily in this isolation. First there were warnings from international leaders not to abandon the Paris Climate accord, then there was condemnation after he failed to heed these warnings. Most recently he has found himself alone in his climate denial at the G20 summit in Argentina.

His climate denial has made Trump a global pariah and this is rapidly becoming an issue at home. Extreme weather events and a deluge of data are all making climate denial harder to countenance.Changing perceptions of global warming suggest that the country is moving away from this president. This may leave Trump as the only one left holding the ball, or to use a better metaphor, he will be left without a seat when the music stops.

As hard as it might be to envision as we languish under the shadow of this administration, the end of Republican climate science denial may be in sight. Republicans may soon realize that their strategy is becoming politically untenable.

As improbable as it might sound, Republican legislators may be forced to accept the facts about climate change. As reported by Joe Romm in a Think Progress article, Shepard Smith, one of the few serious anchors at Fox News, called out the Republican party for its climate denial and failure to accept climate science.

"The climate science is accepted science.," Smith said. "Heatwaves are getting stronger, floods are growing larger, wildfires are obliterating more of America’s landscape — it’s because of climate change that’s largely man made. Our burning of fossil fuels is damaging planet Earth and the time to stop it is running out. This is not a political issue, it’s science. But some have made it political — especially Republicans."

So why are Republicans so reluctant to embrace the truth? Max Boot is a conservative who knows something about denial strategies. Boot says the reason why conservatives wont admit they are wrong is because they are beholden to the fossil fuel industry. Boot is a foreign policy adviser who has been involved with the campaigns of some well known Republican presidential hopefuls including John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Marco Rubio. He is also a writer and editor who has worked for the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal.

"I admit it. I used to be a climate-change skeptic. I was one of those conservatives who thought that the science was inconclusive, that fears of global warming were as overblown as fears of a new ice age in the 1970s, that climate change was natural and cyclical, and that there was no need to incur any economic costs to deal with this speculative threat. I no longer think any of that, because the scientific consensus is so clear and convincing," Boot wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial. "I’ve owned up to the danger. Why haven’t other conservatives? They are captives, first and foremost, of the fossil fuel industry...It is a tragedy for the entire planet that the United States’ governing party is impervious to science and reason."

Republican lawmakers are increasingly faced with stark choices. They can either stand up to a bully or stand with a president who is increasingly perceived as a danger to the interests of the United States. Once the Mueller probe is released, GOP legislators may have very little choice. If they refuse to embrace the facts and confront this president's malfeasance, they will risk their jobs and their reputations.

The vast majority of Americans now support climate action and this is a problem for a president who is also the world's leading climate denier. According to a Monmouth University poll, 8 in 10 Americans think that climate change is fueling extreme weather. This is part of a trend that is troubling for politicians who peddle denial deception.  Democrats are not alone in their embrace of the facts. In the last three years, there has been a 15 point increase in the percentage of Republicans who accept the veracity of climate change. In 2015, only 49 percent of Republicans said they thought climate change was real, now 64 percent of Republicans hold this view.

Republicans cannot ignore the writing on the wall forever and the same self serving political expediency that got them into bed with this president may contribute to a split. This is key because censure or impeachment will only work with Republican support. It is important to note that the decision to take on the commander and chief will be a political calculation. However, to convince Republicans to perform their oversight duties, an overwhelming majority of Americans will have to demand that they act.

It is not hard to imagine that future generations will revile Trump even more than they do today. Republicans have to decide whether they want this to be their legacy.  Members of the GOP have a vested interest in distancing themselves from this president and this presidency.  Let us not forget that there is very little real love here. When he was vying for the nomination, Trump was condemned by many of the same Republicans who later embraced him. It is entirely within character for these people to abandon him as soon as it serves their interests.

By sticking with the sinking ship, they can avoid impeaching a president but by acting like the rats that they are, they may be able to save their own skins and improve their party's prospects going forward.

If they do nothing there is a very real risk that Trump will be wedded to the GOP for all eternity.  History will portray Trump's failed presidency as the culmination of a deeply cynical Republican strategy. However, if they play their cards right they can use Trump as a scapegoat and a pivot point.

This is an existential moment for the planet and the GOP. Legislators will soon have to decide which side of history they want to be on. If they can stay on top of this issue they may be able to influence the narrative of Trump's obituary rather than be eulogized themselves.

If the GOP has a role in ending this presidency they can say along with the rest of America, "the king is dead long live the king!". Alternatively it could all go off the rails like a Shakespearean tragedy.

One way or another this modern day Caesar has cause for concern. Beware the Ides of March Mr. president, legislators may soon bring an end to your rule.

Trump does not do hurricanes well. In fact it would be fair to say that Trump relates to hurricanes the way oil mixes with water. Maybe it has something to do with his lack of empathy, perhaps it has to do with the fact that every extreme weather event exposes the irrationality of his rejection of climate science and highlights the insanity of this administration's energy agenda.  A succession of once in a lifetime storms provides tangible support for the veracity of climate change.  However, Trump is not one to accept reality unless it suits him. When he is confronted with the facts Trump does what he does best, he lies.

Extreme weather wreaked havoc in Asia this year. This includes extreme rainfalls, flooding and landslides in Japan, Vietnam, and China. At least 78 were killed by Typhoon Mangkhut. But these events did not seem to register for Trump, which given his America First policy should come as no surprise.

In the span of ten days two hurricanes slammed into the heart of Trump country. Hurricane Florence drenched the US East Coast and killed 53 people, Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida panhandle and is known to have killed 36 so far. Florence brought devastating rains and Michael turned out to be one the strongest storms ever to hit Florida with wind speeds surpassing 155 miles an hour.

"They say that we had hurricanes that were far worse than what we just had with Michael," Trump told 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl who went on to ask, "What about the scientists who say it's worse than ever?" the president replied, "You'd have to show me the scientists because they have a very big political agenda."

Casting aspersions on the scientists who point out the link between hurricanes and climate change is an example of Trump's deflection, one of the many ways he obfuscates. Trump completely ignores attribution science including the most recent research that links climate change to Hurricane Florence.

In a move that speaks to Trump's insensitivity he held a rally as Hurricane Michael ravaged parts of northern Florida. A day after Hurricane Michael made landfall Trump met with Kanye West in a surreal White House spectacle. When Trump visited a FEMA aid distribution center in Lynn Haven the next day he proclaimed, "we've called for maximum relief." He also made a number of confusing comments including his conviction that those involved in the recovery efforts are "doing more than anybody would have ever done" and Trump called Hurricane Florence "very wet, in terms of water". It all reads like a comedy and it would be laughable if these were not comments uttered by a man who is the leader of the world's most powerful nation.

Trump is perhaps most disliked for kicking people when they are down as he did to San Juan's Mayor Carmen Yulin, Cruz. After Hurricane Maria hit San Juan was devastated and Mayor Cruz pleaded for help Trump responded by calling her "totally incompetent". He did something similar recently when he attacked Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum just before Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle.

Polls show that Gillum is poised to beat Trump's candidate Ron DeSantis in the forthcoming Florida Gubernatorial election. Trump is the kind of man who is not above trying to score political points by attacking people who are facing calamity. This flagrant disregard for the suffering and death of Americans does not offer very good optics.  

Some Republicans may respond well to Trump's callousness and his resistance to the science, some may even mistake it for strength. However, the polls suggest the majority of Americans are not impressed.. Those outside of his base see him in a far less flattering light. With a 60 percent disapproval rating, he is one of the most unpopular presidents in history. His propensity for being insensitive colors the way Trump is seen by broad swaths of the American public.

These negative perceptions are corroborated by Trump's actions on the ground. Some of his most insensitive remarks were directed at Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Trump is infamous for handing out paper towels as Puerto Ricans were trying to cope with the widespread devastation caused by two successive hurricanes. With total losses estimated at upwards of  more than $91 billion Hurricane Maria is one of the most costly storms on record, it is also one of the most lethal. As people were dying last October Trump was quick to commend his administration for doing a  "tremendous job". He even had the audacity to brag about the low death toll.

According to a George Washington University study commissioned by the governor of Puerto Rico, there were 2,975 fatalities attributed to Maria. Another independent analysis from public health experts at Harvard University estimates that 5,740 people likely died as a result of the hurricane. The official death toll now stands at 3,057.

Trump demonstrated that his insensitivity knows no bounds when he continued to tout his administration's hurricane relief efforts even after it became clear that the death toll in Puerto Rico was far worse than he had originally claimed. Trump and the White House simply refused to accept the facts. Press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump "remains proud of all of the work the Federal family undertook to help our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico."  To which Mayor Cruz responded, "what is there to be proud of? 2,970 dead. Is that what he's proud of?"

Mayor Cruz pulled no punches saying the administration led her to believe they were helping when they weren't. She blamed Trump, the federal government and Puerto Rican officials for failing to provide adequate assistance in the aftermath of Maria. "Many of them died because of what was done by the administration and that was silently approved by most of the political class in Puerto Rico," Cruz told CNN. "The administration killed the Puerto Ricans with neglect," Cruz said, adding "Shame on President Trump."

Trump's most recent  statements reinforce the view that in addition to being dishonest he is woefully misguided.  He made ridiculous statements about climate change and touted his "instinct" for science, he even called himself an "environmentalist". Although these comments may seem outlandish, this should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the seemingly endless succession of lies streaming out of his administration.

Later in the same interview he said Washington is, "the most deceptive, vicious world. It is vicious, it's full of lies, deceit and deception." This is how Trump rolls-out from underneath his mountain of subterfuge. He tries to deflect attention away from his dishonesty by saying others are doing what he himself is guilty of. His go to move is a twisted game of, "I know you are but what am I".  The fact that this kind of schoolyard banter is coming from the man who occupies the Oval Office is troubling to say the least. Trump's callousness makes his puerile behavior that much more unsettling.

Trump is a painful combination of ignorance and insensitivity. Trump is a nightmare and not just for climate action. Rather the combat the conditions that fuel these hurricanes, this president is stoking the fires of climate change and adding to the likelihood of even more devastating storms.

President Obama seamlessly assumed the role of comforter-and-chief whereas Trump's response has added insult to injury. Presidents like Calvin Coolidge and George W. Bush were hurt by their response to extreme weather events and Mitt Romney's presidential bid was hobbled by Hurricane Sandy.

When it comes to the connection between hurricanes and climate change it is a contest between the facts and the world's leading purveyor of fake news.  It remains to be seen whether Teflon Don can manage to avoid being singed by the encroaching heat.

The Implications of Trump's Reprehensible Rejection of Climate Science

Like the Republican party he now owns, Donald Trump derides science because it exposes his ignorance. The enormous body of scientific evidence makes it impossible for thinking people to deny the veracity of anthropogenic climate change. Those who seek to malign climate science are guilty of an egregious lie that jeopardizes national security and compromises people's health and well being. It also exacerbates divisions by fraying the unifying fabric rational thought.

Trump rejects science for the same reasons he maligns the press. Eradicating fact based narratives give him license to enact an agenda that is at odds with the national interest. His obfuscation serves corporate interests, especially that of the fossil fuel industry which is the single largest industrial contributor to the climate crisis.

Republicans are complicit in the fossil fuel industry's climate denial because they are handsomely rewarded for their rejection of science. Aided by the Citizens United ruling the fossil fuel industry gives Republicans vast sums of money to propagate lies that protect their interests. The facts are a threat to their multi-trillion dollar business.  Embracing science means rejecting this form of dirty energy.

The goal of their disinformation is to muddy the waters of scientific research and ultimately undermine the perceived veracity of scientific findings. 

Trump recently made a series of clearly inaccurate comments about climate change. When asked about whether he still thinks climate change  is a hoax Trump appeared to modify his position bringing him in line with many other Republicans who question its anthropogenic origins. "I think something's happening. Something's changing and it'll change back again," Trump said. "I don't think it's a hoax. I think there's probably a difference. But I don't know that it's man-made." He completely ignores the vast body of research that demonstrates the anthropogenic origins of climate change.

Trump also said, “I want to look at who drew it—you know, which group drew it."  The answer seemed to indicate that the President had never heard of the IPCC, the world's leading climate science organization. This represents a level of ignorance that is more concerning than surprising.

When the Associated Press asked Trump about the report he gave an even crazier response.
"And you have scientists on both sides of the issue. And I agree the climate changes, but it goes back and forth, back and forth." When the interviewer pointed out that this is not in fact true Trump said:
"My uncle was a great professor at MIT for many years. Dr. John Trump," he said. "And I didn’t talk to him about this particular subject, but I have a natural instinct for science, and I will say that you have scientists on both sides of the picture." He even had the audacity to call himself an "environmentalist".  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Trump's lies with predictable regularity and he is infamous for his doublespeak but to say that he is an environmentalist or that there are scientists on both sides of the climate issue is patently false. His suggestion that he has an instinct for science is a bizarre oxymoron even for the liar-and-chief.  Science is a meticulous methodology, it is premised on procedures not instinct.

The few scientific findings that purportedly question the veracity of climate science have been all proven to be incorrect. There are only three papers that deny climate change and they have all been found to be flawed. Replication is a corner stone of the scientific method and the findings of these three papers cannot be replicated.

Other pseudo-scientific right-wing front groups have developed elaborate disinformation campaigns. Some have been exposed for falsifying data.  Groups like the fossil fuel funded Heartland Institute are going into schools and depriving children of a fact-based education by handing out fake science textbooks that downplay the importance of anthropogenic climate change.

Trump may be the laughing stock of the world but his actions still bite. His withdrawal from the Paris Climate agreement makes it that much more difficult to achieve emissions reduction targets that will keep the earth from warming beyond the upper prescribed limit. His actions have global significance. According to the most recent IPCC report we are quickly approaching the point of no return. We are on the cusp of climate tipping points from which we will not be able to recover.

Trump is making an already perilous situation even worse. Even if all nations on earth honored the emissions reduction pledges they made as part of the Paris Climate Agreement we will not be able to keep the planet from dangerous levels of warming. Improving on these commitments is a daunting task in the light of Republican climate denial and Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the agreement.  To make matters worse Trump has adopted an insane energy policy and embraced what can only be described as a national policy of energy inefficiency.

"Unfortunately, the Trump administration has become a rogue outlier in its shortsighted attempt to prop up the dirty fossil fuel industries of the past. The administration is in direct conflict with American businesses, states, cities and citizens leading the transformation." Climate guru and former Vice President Al Gore said.

Trump's resistance to crafting policy based on science allows him to execute an insane energy agenda. It also facilitated the deregulatory orgy of the former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt who waged war against science during his stint at the EPA.

Pruitt not only purged scientists, according to the Washington Post he excluded them from participating in the rule-making on the use of scientific studies. The goal of the rewrite was to find a pretext to reject valid data that contradicts his agenda of radical deregulation. The Post reports that almost 70 prominent scientific, medical and academic organizations challenged Pruitt's proposal. Pruitt ignored his mandate while at the helm of the EPA and in so doing he compromised the health of Americans.  He turned a blind eye to things like fine particulate pollution which is know to put people at risk for coronary heart disease and respiratory illnesses. The EPA panel that was working on airborne particulate matter has been disbanded.

The acting EPA director Andrew Wheeler has already replaced five of seven members on the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee with industry supporters. Now he is setting his sights on stacking important agency science advisory bodies with insiders who will support radical deregulation. 

As reported by Climatewire, some of the finalists for the EPA's Science Advisory Board include people from the fossil fuel industry and leading climate denial advocacy groups. This includes an economist from the Heritage foundation and scientists who work at Exxon Mobil and Chevron. These people all have a track record of opposing mainstream science and environmental regulations. These people make wildly inaccurate statements including one who downplays the impact of air pollution on human health and another who argues that carbon is good for the planet. More than one finalist hails from the Heartland Institute.

Anthony Lupo, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Missouri, Columbia is one of the contenders who subscribe to the factually inaccurate view that while the earth may be warming humans are not to blame. He takes it one step further when he makes the wildly erroneous claim that increased levels of carbon are actually good for the planet.

To make matters worse the international cooperation that is required to combat climate change is being undermined by Trump's assaults on international institutions like the United Nations. The departure of Nikki Haley as US ambassador to the UN may signal an even harder line.

The Trump administration and his Republican minions use science as a political football to further their destructive agenda. Both Republican legislators and the Trump administration are virulently opposed to science. They have made an already daunting situation far more difficult. Their mendacity in the face of this civilization altering crisis is unconscionable. History will not be kind to this generation of Republicans, nor will it be kind to this president.

* Updated on October, 21, 2018 at 9:25 am

Trump's Energy Agenda is as Insane as his Presidency

Given what we now know about Trump it should come as no surprise that his energy policy is wildly irrational. The self proclaimed deal maker has walked the US away from the greatest economic opportunity in human history. According to a new report sustainable infrastructure including energy represents a $26 trillion opportunity.  The report's authors refer to this as the new climate economy.  If climate action and the green economy are on the Trump administration's radar it is only so that they can be targeted for cuts or removal.

Trump appears determined to end climate action in America. At a time when there is so much opportunity the president appears to be moving in the wrong direction.  While the leader of the free world is dragging the US backwards, forward looking governments are supporting sustainability focused innovation.

In the energy efficiency space new technologies like smart systems are allowing building owners and managers to access data in real time. Technologies like this help to identify cost saving opportunities. While this administration pays lip service to strengthening the economy they are actually hobbling the nation's economic future. No matter how you look at it this administration's energy policy is as  crazy as the commander and chief. The failure to embrace the coming reality along with on reliance on energy sources with no future will have serious consequences for America's global competitiveness.

Rather than support energy efficiency this administration's policy is defined by inefficiency which entails opposition to decreasing power consumption, and reducing air pollution including climate change causing GHGs.

This government's energy policy is utterly irrational. The importance of  government support for energy efficiency is obvious. A US Department of Energy report* on government bluntly stated, "leadership on energy efficiency is necessary."

Trump's resistance to energy efficiency appears to be disconnected from reality, but so is the man himself. He has proven himself to be the most dishonest and incompetent president in the history of the republic and this is reflected in the administration's energy agenda.  There were questions about his competence and his sanity before he became president.  Subsequently the chorus of mental health professionals questioning his fitness to lead has intensified.

Former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt will go down in infamy for systematically dismantling regulations that protect the health of Americans. Trump has repeatedly demonstrated his support for fossil fuels over clean power. He and his administration has actively undermined renewables to help the fossil fuel industry. In the face of declining solar prices this administration even levied tariffs to hurt the clean energy sector.

The ruling US government is dead-set against forward looking energy policy, however, this does not change the fact that government incentives are essential to scale the new climate economy.  Consider the role that the US government played in the development of the American tech economy.  Internet and GPS.  US tech companies are still benefiting from government investments in things like the Internet and GPS. 

Optimists say clean energy can succeed without government support. However, their optimism does not appear to be warranted. National energy policy has a significant effect on energy usage across all four sectors (buildings, transportation, industrial, and power).  The absence of such a policy, or worse still a disadvantageous policy, seriously impedes the growth of clean energy and the green economy.

We should not expect anything positive from the Trump administration, his remaining days in office will be an escalating firestorm.  At best this will keep him from focusing on further attacks on environmental protections and climate action. At worst it will serve as a smokescreen for some members of his cabinet to continue dismantling government.

Outside of this administration we are seeing positive signs including corporate action. We are seeing ongoing interest in energy efficiency from power utilities, technical experts, and consumer advocates.  However, it is going to take leadership to get everyone onboard and this is precisely what we will never see from this administration.

The current US government's stalwart opposition to science based policy exposes the naivete of the hopeful.  There is a powerful logic to investing in the new climate economy but we will not be able to scale it to the required size in the absence of government support.

Deregulation may give the appearance of driving a thriving economy, but this is a short term as the Trump administration is sitting out the next wave of technological innovation.

The cabal running Washington may not succeed in killing the new climate economy, but they have slowed its growth. Deregulation may give the appearance of a thriving economy, but the US is actually becoming less competitive. We need government to invest in the next generation technology, however, that will only happen if we see a change in political leadership.

* The 2009 report titled "Energy Efficiency Policy in the United States: Overview of Trends at Different Levels of Government", was written by Elizabeth Doris, Jaquelin Cochran, and Martin Vorum on behalf of the NREL, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

The ruling US administration has purged government support for energy efficiency and replaced it with what can only be called an inefficiency policy. The Trump administration and the GOP have systematically eradicated energy efficiency programs ranging from appliances to vehicles and utilities. Earlier this month they announced that they are replacing Obama's Clean Power Plan and killing Obama's higher vehicle mileage standards. This administration has also ended a decades-old energy conservation policy that dates back to the 1970s. In July the administration quietly released a memo that declared conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative.

Energy efficiency is the last bastion of the green economy to come under attack from the pessimal presidency of Donald Trump and his Republican minions. This government is not content to simply withdraw their support they seem hellbent on using their authority to crush the idea of energy efficiency altogether. They have targeted government agencies, departments, policies and programs that benefit our environment and our climate. They have also adopted other measures that have made the situation worse.

Trump is not only intent on ending government support for renewables he is actively encouraging increased consumption of dirty sources of energy. Trump champions fossil fuels while opposing renewable energy to benefit his friends in industry and to pander to his climate-denying-coal-rolling-base. The US is the world's biggest economy, and the largest consumer of energy on the planet, so what the president does has grave global consequences.

No matter what the spin machine running Washington says the truth is the election of 2016 has been nightmare. From pollution to health care, and tax reform the American people are being defrauded by their own government. The malfeasance of this administration and the GOP will go down in infamy.

We need governments to incentivize the green economy, we also need them to regulate. At the very least we need them to stay out of the way of state initiatives. This hope was dashed when the Trump administration announced that it would not grant California a waver to allow the state to set its own mileage standards.

The Trump administration has systematically purged a raft of energy efficiency programs. In addition to killing efficiency measures for utilities and vehicles they have also made appliances less efficient by deferring action on five appliance efficiency standards and moving to repeal another three. This makes American manufacturers less competitive and it forces consumers to absorb the higher costs of operating these appliances.

Up until the election of Trump the US had made great strides in improving their energy intensity (energy use per unit of gross domestic product). The Trump regime has impeded the growth of sustainability and although the courts have checked some of the more reckless behavior coming out of the White House, they cannot stop the wrecking ball that is this administration.

The world may be investing in the green economy but Trump's 2018 budget made it clear that he wants to erode environmental protections and kill climate action. Almost everyone accepts that energy efficiency offers multiple benefits, everyone it seems except those who currently rule Washington.