Trump-Harris debate: Is climate change not at centre of US presidential election?

Climate change remains the prime issue among the activists and common man but it is not at all being taken seriously by the US political circle. Both the presidential election 2024 candidates, former President Donald Trump and current VP Kamala Harris were asked about how would they fight climate change upon which the Trump completely avoided the question while Harris stated, “The former president had said that climate change is a hoax, and what we know is that it is very real.” 

When asked about the climate change issue, the republicans had diverted to Mexican auto plants and the crooked Biden Administration. As Americans struggle through another year of extreme heat and rainfall, and raging wildfires, climate change has not captured significant focus on the campaign trail with voters citing the economy and immigration among the top concerns.

Climate Advocates Reaction

Climate activists are calling this a missed opportunity, but some of it is political strategy. “We definitely do want to push Harris to do better, to be more forceful advocating for climate change issues on the campaign trail”, states Aru Shiney Ajay, executive director of Sunrise Movement, a climate action group.

She went on to state, “But with less than two months to go before the election, I cannot overstate how much of a disaster Donald Trump would be for the planet. We do want to make sure to keep him out of the office, so we are walking that line of being able to do both those things”.
Another notable comment came from Neil Chatterjee, former chief of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during Trump’s time as president said, “I think Harris has got a complicated challenge. She wants to energise the progressive base, that really about decarbonisation and climate issues. But she needs to win some of the industrial midwesterners’ swing states in order to get elected as the US President this time.” 

Records of Kamala Harris on Addressing Climate Change Issues and Sustainable Economy Plans

Since her nomination as the Democratic Party US Presidential candidate Kamala Harris after current President Joe Biden left the election race and put her name upfront, she had been addressing the climate change issue pretty boldly and publicly stating the actions taken till now and future plans ahead lined up to make a green sustainable world.

For example, she has stated in the debate, “I am proud as Vice President, over the last 4 years, we have invested a trillion dollars in the green energy economy, we have increased domestic gas production to historic levels.”