President Donald Trump has again repeated a false claim about wind power, telling Americans to remember a nationwide television outage that never happened while criticising renewable energy during a speech at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington. Trump repeats familiar wind power claimSpeaking on Thursday, Trump renewed his attacks on wind energy, which he has long criticised, and claimed people were unable to watch a presidential debate because "the wind wasn't blowing." Referring to renewable energy policies, Trump said the country had been "scammed" by what he called the "Green New Scam." He then described a fictional scenario in which households could not watch a debate between himself and then-President Joe Biden because wind turbines had stopped generating electricity. The anecdote has featured in Trump's speeches before, despite having no factual basis. Electricity grids use a mix of power sources rather than relying solely on wind generation, allowing supply to continue even when wind speeds are low. Battery storage systems can also store surplus wind energy for use when production falls. Debate attracted millions of viewersTrump's story centred on his June 2024 debate with Biden. However, the debate was watched by tens of millions of Americans, with more than 51 million viewers tuning in on television alone, according to Nielsen estimates. Many of those viewers were in Texas, the country's largest producer of wind-generated electricity. The Republican-led state remains the leading producer of wind power in the United States while also being the most populous state won by Trump in the 2024 election. Although the Biden administration promoted renewable energy and set a goal of achieving 100% clean electricity by 2035, the Green New Deal never became law. The proposal, introduced by progressive Democrats as a non-binding congressional resolution, called for a decade-long transition to clean, renewable and zero-emission energy sources. Federal data shows wind energy accounted for about 10% of US net electricity generation in 2024. Additional disputed claimsTrump also repeated other claims that have been challenged. He said California experiences "brownouts and blackouts every weekend," despite there being no evidence to support that assertion. A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state has not experienced rolling blackouts for nearly six years and has not issued emergency Flex Alert conservation requests since 2022, citing investments in clean energy and battery storage. The president also said the United States had attracted "$19.2 trillion" in investment during his first 12 months back in office and complained he received "no credit" for it. However, no evidence has been provided to support that figure, and the total investment received during the current presidential term falls well short of the amount Trump cited. Join the discussion? 27 July 2026
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