The Planet-Sized Hole in Trump's State of the Union Address

"As wildfire smoke and intensified storms wreak apocalyptic levels of devastation across the country, the climate crisis received no attention in the State of the Union Address delivered by President Trump on February 24. What did get mentioned? Oil and gas. "I kept my promise to drill, baby, drill," the president boasted during his nearly two-hour speech."

"In his first year in office, Trump and his administration have gone to immense lengths to prop up fossil fuel interests, including most recently by repealing the bedrock of the federal government's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. He has dismantled core climate and environmental regulations (including through the so-called "biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history" by the Environmental Protection Agency), removed critical climate information and scientific data from government websites, and withdrawn from international climate governance."

"Only a few years away from the 2030 deadline, the United States (the world's biggest historical carbon polluter) and the world remain on track to careen past the emissions reductions required to crucially limit planetary warming, while fossil fuel companies rake in billions."

During his February 2026 State of the Union Address, President Trump made no mention of the climate crisis despite widespread wildfire smoke and intensified storms causing devastation across the country. Instead, he emphasized oil and gas development, declaring "I kept my promise to drill, baby, drill." Trump's administration has systematically dismantled climate protections by repealing greenhouse gas emission regulations, eliminating environmental safeguards through major EPA deregulation, removing climate data from government websites, and withdrawing from international climate agreements. These actions occur as the United States and world approach the critical 2030 emissions reduction deadline established by the Paris Agreement, with current trajectories failing to meet necessary climate targets while fossil fuel companies accumulate substantial profits.

Read at The Nation