Naomi Klein: Trump’s Oil and Gas Supporters Aren’t Climate Change ‘Deniers,’ ‘They Are Arsonists’ – By Michael W. Chapman (CNS News) / Feb 6 2019
(CNSNews.com) — Left-wing activist, journalist, and best selling author Naomi Klein said it is not true that President Donald Trump did not mention “climate change” in his State of the Union speech because he praised the oil and gas industry, which, she added, is destabilizing the planet. She also said the House of Representatives cheered Trump’s remarks and this demonstrates that many of the lawmakers are not climate change “deniers,” but are “arsonists.”
During his speech on Tuesday, Trump said, “[W]e have unleashed a revolution in American energy — the United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. And now, for the first time in 65 years, we are a net exporter of energy.”
At that point, the Republican side of the chamber stood and cheered; on the other side, nearly all of the Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), stayed seated and did not applaud.
This morning, Feb. 7, Naomi Klein, author of the best selling This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate, tweeted, “People claim Trump said not one word about climate change but that’s false. He celebrated the US being the world’s ‘No. 1’ oil and gas producer. And the house cheered — they cheered for the knowing destabilization of the planet.”
“Don’t call them deniers, they are arsonists,” wrote Klein.
Apparently, the search for and production of oil and natural gas “is destabilizing the planet.” Those who support this work are thus supporting global warming, which allegedly is burning up — arson — the planet.
Climate change skeptic Marc Morano, the founder of the non-profit Climate Depot, said that Naomi Klein believes that free markets and the Earth’s climate cannot co-exist.
In a response to Klein, Morano, a conservative, tweeted, “Yes! Cheered! It was awesome! Let me guess, you think capitalism is incompatible with a livable climate!? I guessed your views correctly.”
“Your new idea is to stop calling climate skeptics ‘deniers’ and instead call them ‘climate arsonists’?!” said Morano. “Have fun with that Naomi!”
On his website, Morano noted that the Los Angeles Times likened Trump to an arsonist. In a 2018 story, the newspaper ran the headline, “As global warming continues, Trump wants to burn fossil fuels with an arsonist’s glee.”
In addition to her journalism and books, Klein currently holds the Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University.
Disclosure: Marc Morano is a former reporter for CNSNews.com.
