New EDF ad accuses Donald Trump of ignoring military warnings on climate change

The U.S. military is among establishments officially worried about climate change and President Donald Trump is ignoring the warnings, a new campaign commercial declares.

The 30-second ad “Listen” drops in the Tampa cable and broadcast TV market Tuesday from the Environmental Defense Fund’s political committee. It makes the argument that climate change concerns aren’t just for scientists and liberals, they’re just not for Trump.

The new commercial is part of a $1.7 million, Tampa-based campaign from EDF Action Votes, the political arm of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Citing a 2015 report from the Department of Defense, the commercial opens with scenes of hurricane destruction, as a narrator declares, “Military leaders warn climate change is a threat to our readiness.”

Then, citing a 2019 article from Air Force Magazine, the commercial continues with images from CBS News of destroyed Air Force jets at Tyndall Air Force Base following Hurricane Michael. The narrator says Trump’s former Defense Secretary James Mattis “stressed the dangers to our forces, and the Pentagon has declared our bases at risk.”

“Trump insists he knows better than his own military,” the narrator continues. The video then shows Trump saying, in 2015, “All of this with the global warming, a lot of it’s a hoax. It’s a hoax.”

The video then cites Military.com in 2017 with text that reads, “Trump may doubt climate change, Pentagon sees it as a threat multiplier.”

“If Trump doesn’t listen to his own military leaders, who does he listen to?” the narrator ends.

“Donald Trump has repeatedly ignored military leaders and intelligence experts across a range of issues, including climate change. These are among the most salient voices warning about the looming impacts that the climate crisis will have on our safety and security,” EDF Action President Joe Bonfiglio stated in a news release announcing the new ad. “Simply put, Donald Trump and his administration have spent the past four years sidelining military and intelligence officials, leaving our country less safe than we’ve been in recent history.”

Replied Trump Victory Spokesperson Emma Vaughn:

“President Trump and his Administration continue to propose policies that encourage environmental protection while promoting economic growth. Meanwhile, Joe Biden is supporting fringe policies that would destroy our economy, like the Green New Deal, which would cost the average Florida household $73,000 in its first year alone.”