Voters across the political and demographic spectrum find Trump increasingly objectionable and Millennials in particular are refusing to support the Republican nominee because of his position on climate change. While a USA Today / Rock the Vote poll just released shows that Clinton is “trouncing Trump 56 percent – 20 percent among those under 35,” a Washington Post analysis of the reasons why former supporters are abandoning Trump shows that the issue of climate change plays prominently with millennials.
In a piece over the weekend, Former supporters describe their ‘last straw’ when it came to Trump, the Post took a look at Millennial reddit users and found trends represented by examples like the following:
“I was on the fence until he said global warming was a hoax,” WubbaLubbaDubStep said.
“When he and Clinton both got the nomination for their respective parties, I was actually leaning more toward Trump,” Scratch_That_Itch said. “However, his denial of climate change completely changed my mind. I’m not one to get caught up in the doom and gloom of many articles about the climate changing, but there is absolutely ZERO reason not to invest time, money and energy into renewable/cleaner power sources.”
Trump doubled down on his absurd position Friday, telling the Miami Herald that he’s “not a big believer in manmade climate change.”
If elected, Trump would be in the ridiculous international position of being the only world leader of any nation to deny climate science and the dangers posed by the climate crisis. Just as he is alienating voters of every age and demographic due to his total ignorance on climate, he would alienate world leaders from every country, harming our alliances and relationships around the world and making America weaker.
In contrast, Secretary Hillary Clinton has proven she is a climate champion with the track record and experience to work with our allies and move climate action forward on a global scale. She wants to end the debate once and for all surrounding offshore drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic oceans and she is pushing for much-needed reform of the antiquated, Nixon-era rules governing coal mining on public lands. She is committed to protecting our forests and public lands, while also doubling the American outdoor economy, which creates jobs and generates billions of dollars.
Millennials want a president who holds justice and equality among their top priorities. Clinton has demonstrated her commitment to progressive values time and again, from her work as an advocate at the Children’s Defense Fund, to making history by holding the first hearing on environmental justice ever in the U.S. Senate.
While Trump will drag us backwards toward the dirty fuels of the past and cook the planet in the process, Clinton will build on the progress we’ve already achieved in moving America and the world, towards a 21st century clean energy economy under President Obama.