thought “clean coal” was physically cleaned by miners?

At a 2017 Phoenix rally, Trump championed “clean coal,” though he seemed unclear as to what it was.

We’ve ended the war on beautiful, clean coal, and it’s just been announced that a second brand new coal mine where they’re going to take out clean coal – meaning they’re taking out coal, they’re going to clean it – is opening in the state of Pennsylvania.

“Clean coal” has nothing to do with the mining and extraction process. It refers to various complex technologies used to mitigate the carbon emissions that arise from burning coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels. Championing coal was a core component of Trump’s 2016 campaign.

President Donald Trump holds up a Trump Digs Coal sign as he arrives to speak during a Make America Great Again Rally at Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, West Virginia in August.
Trump at a rally in West Virginia. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images

Because of the cost associated with developing and implementing such technologies, the term “clean coal” has been derided by critics as a fabrication. The Sierra Club has long maintained that “clean coal” is an oxymoron, and that there is no way to “clean” coal to any substantive degree that would be superior to alternative forms of energy.

Despite being a climate change denier, in 2017, the CEO of the United States’ largest coal company agreed.

Murray Energy Corp. CEO Robert Murray explained, “Carbon capture and sequestration does not work. It’s a pseudonym for ‘no coal.’ It is neither practical nor economic, carbon capture and sequestration. It is just cover for the politicians, both Republicans and Democrats that say, ‘Look what I did for coal,’ knowing all the time that it doesn’t help coal at all.”

Live Science – Trump Touts ‘Clean Coal’: What Is It, Really?
Sierra Club – There’s nothing clean about coal and nothing funny about its impacts
E&E News – Pruitt will launch program to ‘critique’ climate science
Wikipedia – Coal pollution mitigation

used pseudonyms to discuss himself with the press?

In 2016, audio resurfaced of a phone call to the media by John Miller, who claimed to be Trump’s publicists. It was noted, however, that his voice and speech patterns closely resembled those of Trump himself.

In the call, Miller said Trump was doing “tremendously well financially,” and despite there being several famous women who wanted to date him, including Carla Bruni and Madonna, “he treated his wife well and…he will treat Marla well.” Marla Maples was Trump’s second wife before their divorce and his marriage with Melania.

Trump has also accused of using another pseudonym, John Barron, to speak about himself to the media. Calling himself “vice-president of the Trump organization,” the name John Barron is first noted in the defense of Trump’s decision to destroy sculptures on the facade of a Manhattan building that was demolished for the construction of Trump Tower. Michael D’Antonio, the biographer to whom Trump said his temperament remained unchained since the first grade, noted that “John Barron was a way for Trump to talk himself up.” Trump later named his fifth child with third wife Melania “Barron.”

Trump vehemently denied the claims, saying in a Today interview. “It doesn’t sound like me on the phone, I will tell you that. And it was not me on the phone.” However, in a 1990 court case Trump testified, “I believe on occasion I used that name.”

Trump also appeared to pen a letter bragging of his relationship with women under another pseudonym, Carolin Gallego.

The Washington Post – Donald Trump masqueraded as publicist to brag about himself
The Washington Post – The amazing story of Donald Trump’s old spokesman, John Barron — who was actually Donald Trump himself
The New Yorker – Donald Trump and the “John Miller” Tape: A Question of Character
Vice – Remembering John Barron, Donald Trump’s ‘Spokesman’ Alter Ego
Today – Donald Trump denies posing as spokesman in recordings Washington Post uncovered
Wikipedia – Pseudonyms of Donald Trump

used a fake name to boast about his relationship with women in a NY Mag article?

In a 1992 issue of New York Magazine, a letter was published in defense of Donald Trump and his relationship with women.

Based on the fact that I work for Donald Trump as his secretary—and therefore know him well—I think he treats women with great respect, contrary to what Julie Baumgold implied in her article … I do not believe any man in America gets more calls from women wanting to see him, meet him, or go out with him. The most beautiful women, the most successful women—all women love Donald Trump.

Carolin Gallego December 7, 1992

No record of a Carolin Gallego in the employ of Trump has been found, and longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen said he’d never heard of her. The similarity between the letter and Trump’s own speech pattern has been noted by journalists and commentators.

Trump also used the pseudonyms John Miller and John Barron when speaking with the press.

Washingtonian – Carolin Gallego Wrote a 1992 Letter Saying Women Love Donald Trump. We’re Having Trouble Finding Her
Wikipedia – Pseudonyms of Donald Trump

said of Abraham Lincoln “he did good, although it’s always questionable, you know, the end result”?

In a Fox News interview with Harris Faulkner, Trump repeated past claims that he had done more for the black community than any other President. In doing so, he made a comment about “the end result.”

TRUMP: I think I’ve done more for the black community than any other President. And let’s take a pass on Abraham Lincoln because he did good, although it’s always questionable, you know, the end result-

FAULKNER: Well we are free, Mr. President so I think he did pretty well. [laughter]

TRUMP: But we are free. You understand what I mean.

It was unclear what Trump was referring to.

Trump previously claimed that he could be more Presidential than Lincoln “with the big hat,” who he described as someone who “did the thing.”

Business Insider – Trump says Abraham Lincoln ‘did good’ for the Black community but that ‘the end result’ is ‘questionable’
CNBC – Trump suggests Lincoln’s legacy is ‘questionable,’ brags about his own work for Black Americans
Forbes – Trump Claims He’s Done More For Blacks Than Any President Besides Lincoln

tweeted a video of himself giving a Presidential speech from a movie?

The scene was from the 1996  film Independence Day. The tweet was derided for showing such an absence of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic that the President had to co-opt the message of a fictitious President.

The actor from the scene, Bill Pullman, said of the tweet that “My voice belongs to no one but me.”

Vanity Fair – Bill Pullman Tells Donald Trump to Keep His Memes To Himself

touted a new “super-duper missile”?

In May of 2020, Trump boasted of a new missile under development, which he described as a “super duper missile” that travels “17 times faster than what they have right now.” While Trump promised that it would provide leverage over Russia and China, the Pentagon had no comment.

The remark came amid Trump’s unveiling of early details about the US Space Force, the first new military branch established since the US Air Force in 1947.

Trump continued to tout the missile throughout the year.

The Hill – Trump touts new ‘super-duper’ missile that can allegedly travel 17 times faster than current missiles
AP News – Space Force unveils flag; Trump touts ‘super-duper missile’
Popular Mechanics – What Is Trump’s ‘Super Duper Missile’?: An Investigation

invited Kanye West to the White House?

Kanye West has been a vocal supporter of Trump throughout his Presidency, citing their shared “dragon energy.”

In October 2018, Trump invited Kanye to the White House. During his visit, Kanye embarked on a stream-of-consciousness speech for some 20 minutes.

Referencing his MAGA hat, Kanye said, “It was something about when I put this hat on, it made me feel like Superman. You made a Superman.” He went on to say Trump was “on a hero’s journey right now.”

Kanye also boasted about his IQ, and noted his diagnosis for bipolar disorder before seguing into how “we can empower pharmaceuticals, we can empower our industries, we can empower our factories.”

On his past remarks about Bush not caring about black people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Kanye explained, “I was programmed to think from a victimized mentality. A welfare mentality.”

On improving crime and education in Chicago, Kanye continued, “we have to make it more exciting. We have to mix curriculums. You play basketball while you’re doing math. You learn about music while you meditate in the morning.”

After Kanye finished, Trump concluded, “What do you after that? …That was quite something.”

During an interview amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kanye explained his continued support: “I buy real estate. It’s better now than when Obama was in office. They don’t teach you in school about buying property. They teach you how to become somebody’s property.”

The New York Times – Kanye West’s White House Rant Steals Trump’s Spotlight
NPR – ‘Quite Something’: Kanye West Makes A Statement In The Oval Office
USA Today – Here’s every word of Kanye West’s bizarre meeting with President Trump
ABC News – Kanye West during Trump meeting at White House: ‘If he don’t look good, we don’t look good’
GQ – Inside Kanye West’s Vision for the Future

referred to the “Deep State Department”?

The remark was amid a press conference on the COVID19 pandemic. When asking reporters if there were any questions for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump said, “I’d like him to go back to the State Department, or as they call it, the Deep State department – if you don’t mind – I’d lie to have him go back and do his job.”

The deep state is a conspiracy theory Trump has commonly employed, which references a secret cabal within the government.

It prompted an incredulous reaction from Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The Washington Post – Trump makes ‘Deep State Department’ joke
Wikipedia – Deep state in the United States

altered a hurricane map with a Sharpie?

In an August, 2019 briefing on the approaching Hurricane Dorian, Trump claimed that Alabama would be affected:

And, I will say, the states — and it may get a little piece of a great place: It’s called Alabama.  And Alabama could even be in for at least some very strong winds and something more than that, it could be.  This just came up, unfortunately.  It’s the size of — the storm that we’re talking about.  So, for Alabama, just please be careful also.

The National Weather Service tweeted that this was in fact not the case. While 5 states declared national emergencies in advance of the hurricane, Alabama was not among them.

After multiple days of tweeting about how he was right, Trump displayed a hurricane map that appeared to be altered by Sharpie to extend the path into Alabama. It quickly became termed “Sharpiegate.”

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

When questioned about this, Trump claimed he knew nothing about it.

Two days later, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency within the Department of Commerce, issued an unsigned statement siding with Trump’s claims about Alabama. Shortly after, the New York Times reported that US commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, had threatened the head of the NOAA with firings unless they publicly supported Trump’s claims.

In June, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s inspector general released a report on the issue. It confirmed that “the Department and NOAA issued the Statement in response to a request by the White House then-acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.”

The inspector general’s report further concluded that “the Statement undercut the NWS’s forecasts and potentially undercut public trust in NOAA’s and the NWS’s science and the apolitical nature of that science.”

A separate report by the National Academy of Public Administration found that NOAA’s scientific integrity had been compromised “intentionally, knowingly, or in reckless disregard.”

Trump also previously suggested stopping hurricanes with nuclear weapons.

Whitehouse.gov – Remarks by President Trump in Briefing on Hurricane Dorian
The New York Times – Trump Insists He Was Right About Hurricane Dorian Heading for Alabama
The Atlantic – Trump’s Most Pointless Lie
The Washington Post – Investigation rebukes Commerce Department for siding with Trump over forecasters during Hurricane Dorian
The Washington Post – NOAA leaders violated agency’s scientific integrity policy, Hurricane Dorian ‘Sharpiegate’ investigation finds
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Statement from NOAA, September 6, 2019
U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General – Evaluation of NOAA’s September 6, 2019, Statement About Hurricane Dorian Forecasts
A Report by a Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration – An Independent Assessment of Allegations of Scientific Misconduct
Wikipedia – Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy

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