Smoke from the rampaging Riverside Fire on the Mt. Hood National Forest. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.
Donald Trump does so many awful things: wars, inflationary taxes (tariffs), and disease promotion, that many of his actions do not draw nearly the contempt and ridicule they deserve. His complaints about the smoke from Canadian wildfires fits into that category.
Just in case anyone didn’t know, Canada’s wildfires are largely about global warming. Hotter and drier weather has made it virtually inevitable that large chunks of Canada’s remote forests would burn each summer.
And no person on the planet has done more to promote global warming than Donald Trump. He has actively sought to promote fossil fuel use at every opportunity and done everything in his power to block clean energy, electric vehicles, and conservation efforts. He also has not restricted his efforts on behalf of global warming to the domestic front. Trump has also pushed foreign governments to develop and use fossil fuels and steer away from clean energy and electric vehicles.
This is why every sentient being could not help laughing when Donald Trump threatened to impose import taxes (tariffs) on goods from Canada because smoke from their forest fires was entering the United States. The absurdity of this threat would be beyond belief to anyone who had not been following Trump’s career in politics over the last decade.
In the realm of absurdity, it is also worth reminding everyone that it is overwhelmingly U.S. consumers who pay Trump’s tariffs. This means that Trump was effectively threatening U.S. consumers with higher taxes because his actions led to forest fires in Canada, which were causing air pollution in the United States. What a fantastic description of MAGA!
On the domestic side we have our own massive wildfires. Not only has Trump contributed to them with his promotion of global warming, his DOGE cuts also eliminated thousands of jobs for experienced firefighters. Also, by stationing thousands of National Guard troops in clown show displays in Washington, DC and other major cities, he has pulled away people who could otherwise be assisting in fighting his wildfires.
I will end on a positive note. Trump and Netanyahu’s war with Iran has jumpstarted the green transition in a way that no environmentally minded Democratic president ever could have hoped. China’s exports of EVs doubled from June 2025 to June 2026. And countries like Pakistan and the Philippines are adding solar panels faster than anyone could have imagined.
Donald Trump might continue to mutter about the “green scam” in his demented rants, but the world is quickly moving away from fossil fuels. The key question is the extent to which it can avoid the damage caused by Trump and his oil industry buddies.
This first appeared on Dean Baker’s Beat the Press blog.
