Trump Recounts Non-Existent Wind-Related Debate Blackout

Donald Trump, during a speech at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, again attacked wind energy. He claimed that two years prior, Americans could not watch his debate with Joe Biden because the wind wasn't blowing. This situation did not occur; the June 2024 debate was watched by tens of millions on television.

"They said the wind is so wonderful, so wonderful, except you couldn't watch television. They wanted to watch the debate, Donald Trump versus Sleepy Joe Biden. Nobody could watch it, because the wind wasn't blowing. Do you remember that? 'Honey, we'd like to watch the debate tonight.' 'Sorry, the wind isn't blowing,'" Trump said.

In fact, there was no widespread outage preventing Americans from watching the debate due to a lack of wind. According to Nielsen estimates, more than 51 million people watched Trump's June 2024 clash with then-President Joe Biden on television alone. Wind is not the sole source powering the grid. As CNN points out, Trump's claim overlooks how the American power system functions. Wind energy is one of many sources used to generate electricity, not the sole source powering the grid. A drop in wind turbine production does not automatically mean power outages.

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They said the wind is so wonderful, so wonderful, except you couldn't watch television. They wanted to watch the debate, Donald Trump versus Sleepy Joe Biden. Nobody could watch it, because the wind wasn't blowing. Do you remember that? 'Honey, we'd like to watch the debate tonight.' 'Sorry, the wind isn't blowing.'

Additionally, energy storage systems are playing an increasingly important role, allowing excess production to be stored and used during periods of lower generation. Furthermore, viewers of the debate undoubtedly included residents of Texas, the state that produces by far the most wind-powered electricity in the U.S. Texas is also the most populous state that Trump won in the presidential election and remains a Republican stronghold.

During his EPA appearance, Trump also condemned the Democrats' climate policy, calling it the "Green New Scam." "The whole country has been scammed. I wasn't scammed. I knew it from the very beginning, from the first minute I heard this crap," the president said. Joe Biden has indeed promoted the development of renewable energy sources during his presidency and set a goal for all U.S. electricity to come from clean sources by 2035. However, this did not mean adopting the so-called Green New Deal. Congress never enacted the Green New Deal, and Biden did not sign such a legal act. It was a non-binding resolution presented by progressive Democrats, aiming to launch a ten-year transformation program to meet the country's energy needs with clean, renewable, and emission-free sources. The story about the debate that Americans supposedly couldn't watch due to lack of wind was not the only one questioned.

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The whole country has been scammed. I wasn't scammed. I knew it from the very beginning, from the first minute I heard this crap.