Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) slammed President Trump today for saying noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, calling the remark “idiotic.”
During a call with reporters, Grassley, a Trump ally, had strong words regarding the president’s views on wind power, a cause Grassley has championed during his tenure in the Senate.
“I’m told that the White House respects my views on a lot of issues,” Grassley said. “Trump’s comments on wind energy — not only as a president but when he was a candidate — were, first of all, idiotic, and it didn’t show much respect for Chuck Grassley as the grandfather of the wind energy tax credit.”
Trump last night took time during a speech at a National Republican Congressional Committee fundraising dinner to knock wind turbines.
{READ: Trump Claims Wind Energy Causes Cancer}
“If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer,” he said.
There is no evidence to support Trump’s claim that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer.
Trump has voiced his disapproval of wind power before, most recently during a rally in Michigan last month when he knocked the renewable energy source and falsely claimed that if the wind “doesn’t blow, you can forget about television for that night.”
Iowa is a national leader when it comes to wind energy.
It was the first state to get more than 30 percent of its electricity through wind power.
After the phone call with reporters ended, Grassley reportedly sent out a press release touting his appeal for more federal wind energy funding, which has bipartisan support.
Tuesday evening was far from the first time Trump has pushed misinformation about wind energy.
During a speech in Michigan last week, he decried that the unreliability of wind means it’s impossible to watch TV on evenings where the wind isn’t blowing.
Trump’s comments betrayed ignorance of how batteries work and of the idea that wind is just one part of a broader renewable energy system.
Asked about Trump’s remarks, Michael Mann, a professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University, told Newsweek they amounted to “malicious ignorance.”
“The truth is that a combination of wind, solar and other renewables, along with battery and smart grid technology, can provide continuous and abundant electricity,” Mann said.
During previous speeches, Trump has baselessly suggested wind turbines make easy targets for terrorists, and claimed they are especially dangerous for birds.
In fact, fossil fuel power plants lead to far more bird deaths than wind turbines.