Trump Criticizes Green New Deal FAQ for Farting Cow Reference
A proposal in Congress that seeks to limit greenhouse gas drew the ire of President Donald Trump during a recent rally for his 2020 campaign.
At Trump’s rally held on Feb. 11 in El Paso, Texas, he talked about the need for bipartisan cooperation between Republicans and Democrats. It was at this point he mentioned what he calls a “radical resistance, it’s the radical left” who are opposed to some of Trump’s platforms, such as building a border wall.
Trump went onto address the Green New Deal that was proposed on Feb. 7 by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
“I really don’t like their policy of taking away your car, of taking away your airplane flights, of ‘Let’s hop a train to California,’ of you’re not allowed to own cows anymore,” Trump says.
The changes proposed by the Green New Deal would cause “a lot of problems,” Trump adds.
The mention of not being able to “own cows anymore” by Trump is a reference to a FAQ sheet released by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez before the Green New Deal announcement.
The FAQ sheet says, “We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast, but we think we can ramp up renewable manufacturing and power production, retrofit every building in America, build the smart grid, overhaul transportation and agriculture, plant lots of trees and restore our ecosystem to get to net-zero.”
Following pushback from the media, fellow politicians and farmers, Ocasio-Cortez has distanced herself from the FAQ sheet, saying that doctored versions and drafts made it into the press. However, the version that NPR shared was not doctored and came from Ocasio-Cortez’s office.
“It’s literally—clearly—irony,” Ocasio-Cortez spokesman Corbin Trent, told a reporter during a phone interview.
Ocasio-Cortez has since removed the Green New Deal fact sheet from her website and encouraged people to look to the contents of the submitted resolution, H.Res. 109.
Despite the controversy over “farting cows” the Green New Deal proposal aims to work with farmers and ranchers. The collaborative effort has a goal “to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible.”
The Green New Deal could soon be up for vote, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offering to let it come forward in the Senate.
“I’ve noted with great interest the Green New Deal, and we’re going to be voting on that in the Senate,” McConnell says. “I’ll give everybody an opportunity to go on record and see how they feel about the Green New Deal.”
It is unlikely that the nonbinding resolution would pass in the Senate, with Republicans holding the majority, which has some Democrats viewing McConnell’s move for a vote as a political tactic. The Green New Deal has 67 cosponsors in the House and 11 cosponsors in the Senate, all of whom are Democrats.
Nevertheless, moving into the 2020 campaign there will likely continue to be talk of “farting cows” and taking away cattle as long as the Green New Deal is still on the table.
Wyatt Bechtel
Thu, 02/14/2019 – 11:00
Category
Beef (General)
Dairy (General)
Governmental Regulations
Dairy Policy
Nutrient Management
Cattle
Comments
BEEF
Cattle
Governmental Regulations
Nutrient Management
Dairy
cow-calf
News Article
Image Caption
Green New Deal fact sheet continues to spark controversy with a call for reduction in farting cows.
Image Credit
Multimedia Graphic Network, Inc.
Source: Dairy Herd
