In the recent presidential debate, President Donald Trump and former Vice President aired allegations and personal attacks against each other. This was the second and final presidential debate held before the election on 3rd November. At a point in this debate, Donald Trump called India’s air quality “filthy”. The comment was made when Donald Trump talked about his decision to drop from the 2015 Paris climate accord. Headlines stating, “Trump calls India’s air filthy” went viral.
Trumps call India’s air “filthy”
Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia. Look at India. The air is filthy. I walked out of the Paris Accord as we had to take out trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly”, said Trump.
The remark regarding India’s “filthy” air quality was made by Trump as he attempted to justify his decision of pulling out from the Paris climate accord. He reiterated that he values jobs and the decision to stay in the climate accord would have resulted in the United States being characterized as a non-competitive nation. After this statement, Joe Biden cautioned citizens that the United States will not be able to afford four more years of Donald Trump rolling back on environmental regulation mechanisms.
Biden emphasized, “Biden said that climate change is “an existential threat to humanity. We have a moral obligation to deal with it.” He said, “We’re going to pass the point of no return within the next eight to 10 years.” The planet is already bearing the brunt of human activities, reports say that the planet has warmed up by approximately one degree Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit) due to pre-industrial levels. This increase is enough to boost the intensity of deadly heatwaves, droughts, and tropical storms that could serve as a potential hazard.
People react
Trump’s negative remarks regarding India, Russia, and China during the presidential debate attracted considerable criticism online. Questions were raised regarding Modi’s friendship with Donald Trump. The air quality index of several cities located in northern India is poor, especially during the months of winter. Several factors are at interplay here that adversely impact the air quality of India. These factors include the burning of crops in winter months, vehicular and industrial pollution, festivities that involve fireworks, and low wind speed in the country. This situation is also referred to as “deadly cocktail of poisonous gases”.
Several users tried to draw attention to India’s air pollution problem after “Trump calls India’s air quality filthy” went viral. One user tweeted, Facts can’t be contested. India needs a desperate change, air quality is one of the worst, I’m not even going to defend India on this. We should accept facts instead of “passing the buck” as in her statement. As for Trump’s statement: no comments.
Another user tweeted, Our air IS filthy. Every year about 15 of the 20 cities with the filthiest air in the world are in India. We’ve also done little to address this, except pass the buck around. No point being outraged when Donald Trump speaks that truth. Our air is an awful global embarrassment.
