It’s virtually certain that Trump will go down in history as one of the worst American presidents. Probably the worst’est of them all. His first term was horrible. His second term is an even scarier horror show of incompetence, immorality, incoherence, and incessant lying.
But other than that, he does seem fairly capable of remodeling White House bathrooms.
There will be a lot of competition for Trump’s greatest failure. Tariffs, Iran war, inflation, election interference, killing of innocent protesters, decimating science programs, attacking journalists — to name but a few of Trump’s least favorite hits.
I suspect that one issue will rise to the top of what future citizens of our One and Only Planet will curse Trump for: his denial of human-caused climate change, and his attempts to expand fossil fuel production while trashing renewable energy such as wind and solar.
The next Democratic president, who should take office in January 2029, will be able to undo many of Trump’s misguided policies. However, the United States and the world would have been much better off if Trump hadn’t been able to spend his second term putting up roadblocks to reducing carbon emissions.
We’re already experiencing the nasty effects of global warming. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are steadily increasing. The ocean’s levels even more so. Soon it is probable that the Pacific Ocean will manifest the strongest El Nino on record due to very high water temperatures. It’s estimated that Europe experienced seventy thousand heat-related deaths in 2022, forty-eight thousand in 2023, and sixty-three thousand in 2024.
Yet recently Trump announced an oil deal with Venezuela.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Venezuela agreed to give the U.S. majority of control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in the South American country, a deal he said would more than double U.S. oil reserves and eventually lower gas prices.
Just what the world doesn’t need. More carbon pollution.
Meanwhile, China is kicking the butt of the United States when it comes to producing renewable energy technology that is increasingly demanded by every corner of the globe except the empty territory that is Trump’s brain.
China is looking forward at a lower carbon future. Trump is looking backward at a higher carbon past. That’s stupid economic policy and stupid public policy. The National Resources Defense Council says:
It’s true that we need international cooperation to tackle climate change. The United States used to be a leader and brought others to action by taking the initiative. Now others—Europe and China, for example—are leading. The Trump administration is sacrificing more than just our reputation by retreating. We’re losing in the global competition for electric vehicles and other clean technologies. And if an economy the size of ours keeps pumping out carbon pollution with abandon, the worldwide effort will fail.
Thankfully, I’m confident that the 2026 midterm election will result in Democrats taking back the House and maybe also the Senate. Then a Democratic president will be elected in 2028 and Trump’s disastrous climate change denialism will start to fade in the nation’s rear view mirror. For the sake of my granddaughter and other young people, I dearly hope that prediction comes true, so they can inhabit a world suitable for human civilization.
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