On his first — delayed — trip to Iowa since his election victory tour stop last December, Donald Trump visited Cedar Rapids, where he disparaged wind energy and pitched his idea for a solar-paneled Mexican border wall.
Promoting his plans to bring back coal jobs, and despite Sen. Chuck Grassley’s warning last August that the president would attack wind power “over my dead body,” Trump lashed out at it, saying, “I don’t want to just hope the wind blows to light up your homes.”
At a higher percentage than any other state, roughly a third of the energy generated in Iowa is from wind power.
It’s not the first time Trump has attacked wind energy. In 2012, he tweeted, “Not only are wind farms disgusting looking, but even worse they are bad for people’s health.” He also has a preoccupation with wind turbines killing birds.
But Trump showed some support for sustainable energy, suggesting his border wall — a campaign promise that’s gained no traction since he took office — could be loaded with solar panels in order to “create energy and pay for itself.” The panels, he added, would make the wall look “beautiful” and require Mexico “to pay much less money” for its construction.
“Pretty good imagination, right?” he added.
