Will Ivanka Trump Be the White House Voice of Reason on Climate Change?
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By Josh Nathan-Kazis December 1, 2016
Ivanka Trump may advocate for action on climate change in her new role as first daughter, Politico reported today, citing a “source close to her.”
Trump, who is Jewish, is considering ways to speak out on climate change, according to Politico. That could put her in conflict with her father, the president-elect, who has consistently argued that climate change does not exist.
In 2012, Donald Trump tweeted that the “concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
Just days ago, Trump’s nominee for chief of staff, former Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, told a Fox News interviewer that Trump’s “default position” on climate change was that it is “a bunch of bunk.”
Ivanka Trump has no public history of climate change advocacy. In her speech at the Republican National Convention, she talked about equal pay for women and support for working mothers.
Politico quoted an unnamed source saying Ivanka Trump hopes to be a moderate voice who could talk to concerns of women, a broad swath of issues that could include climate change.
“These are totally consistent with what she’s developed with her brand,” the source said. “She is playing a critical role in being able to have issues that moderate and liberal women care about — and creating a bridge to the other side.”
The global temperature has risen 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, according to NASA, while the sea levels rise 3.4mm per year. Scientists predict that the global temperature will continue to rise between 2.5 and 10 degrees over the next century.
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com
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