Trump took the stage at the UN General Assembly on September 23 and unleashed a torrent of falsehoods, dismissing climate change as "the global warming hoax". In a particularly bizarre rant, he alleged that China, despite manufacturing vast amounts of wind power equipment, "barely use[s] them."
The nearly hour-long tirade triggered an international outcry, with US media scrambling to correct the record. While Trump's crusade against green energy is nothing new, his decision to spout such blatant nonsense on a global stage left many stunned.
CNN: Trump's UN speech riddled with falsehoods.
A Tirade Against Renewables
During his speech, Trump bragged about America's "now thriving like never before" in the energy sector under his leadership, claiming he was "getting rid of the falsely named renewables." He dismissed renewables as "a joke”: “They don’t work. They are too expensive. They are not strong enough to fire up plants you need to make your country great.” As a final, simplistic jab, he added, “The wind doesn’t blow (all the time).”
This wasn't the first time Trump has peddled the lie that China avoids its own wind power. He doubled down on this falsehood at the UN, insisting that while China is a top producer of wind technology, it only exports it while shunning it at home. "You know, they use coal, they use gas, they use almost anything, but they don’t like wind," Trump claimed, "But they sure as hell like selling the windmills."
Not stopping there, Trump went on to smear wind turbines as shoddy, poor-performing machines with outrageous operating costs. According to him, the "big windmills are so pathetic and so bad, so expensive to operate. And they have to be rebuilt all the time and they start to rust and rot."
He concluded that with this energy, "You're supposed to make money with energy, not lose money. If you lose money, the governments have to subsidize. You can't put them out without massive subsidies.
The Facts Tell a Different Story
The reality, as reported by CNN, paints a completely different picture. In reality, China “has massive wind farms onshore and offshore” and “continues to install additional wind capacity much faster than the US.”
Citing data from China's National Energy Administration, the report noted that in 2024, “Wind power capacity touched 520 GW, the administration said, up 18% from a year earlier.”
The New York Times also dismantled Trump's narrative, highlighting that his claims are the complete opposite of reality. China is the undisputed global leader in both the number of existing wind farms and total installed capacity. Furthermore, China has more wind farms in the pipeline than any other nation on Earth.
"Recharge", a Norwegian renewable energy news outlet, slammed Trump's speech as a “typically rambling speech” and a “typically fact-free tirade”. The publication pointed out his consistent denial of climate change and his renewed attack on wind power, including the baseless accusation that China exports wind turbines while hardly using them at home.
China's Dominance by the Numbers
The facts speak for themselves. China’s newly installed wind power capacity shattered records last year. Data from China’s National Energy Administration confirmed that by 2024, the nation's total installed capacity for wind power reached around 520 million kilowatts, an 18.0% jump from the previous year.
According to the World Wind Energy Association, a German non-profit, China's installed wind power capacity makes up nearly half of the entire world's total. The organization's figures show China contributing 561,000 megawatts to the global total of 1.2 million megawatts.
Further data from the Global Energy Monitor, a California-based non-profit, reinforces this point. Of the 17,000 wind farms operating globally, China owns 5,400—almost a third. Looking ahead, China is also set to build 2,800 of the 8,600 wind farms planned worldwide.
Fact check: China's wind power capacity dwarfs that of the US.
Trump's War on Green Energy
Trump's anti-wind crusade is a long-running affair. During his first term, he spread absurd rumors that wind power lowers property values, "kills birds," and even that turbine noise causes cancer. Since his return to the White House, his assault on renewables has only escalated. He has put a "ban" on offshore wind, suspending new leases and even stopping approved projects in New York, a move that analysts say will cripple the US offshore wind pipeline.
Back at the UN, Trump didn't just target wind power; he went after the entire concept of climate change, labeling it "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world". He baselessly asserted that the scientific consensus on global warming was a conspiracy by "stupid people" and berated countries, including America's own allies, for embracing renewable energy. He also voiced his opposition to international climate agreements designed to limit temperature increases and phase out fossil fuels.
The Fallout
In the aftermath, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers offered a weak defense, claiming that "Whether it’s called global cooling, global warming, or climate change, the radical climate agenda continues to destroy many great countries around the world."
But the criticism was swift. Gina McCarthy, a former top climate official under Biden, slammed Trump in a statement. She pointed out that climate change is already causing more severe and frequent disasters across the US, and Trump is abdicating the government's duty to protect its citizens. "Trump continues to embarrass the U.S. on the global stage and undermine the interests of Americans at home," she concluded.
To add another layer of fact-checking, CNN also debunked the notion that the U.S. ever spent or committed $1 trillion to the Paris Climate Agreement. Citing official documents, CNN stated that “The U.S. has never spent or committed anywhere close to $1 trillion in connection to the accord; Biden pledged upon taking office to pay $11.4 billion per year toward international climate financing, but Congress appropriated less than even that”.
Deep Throat
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America’s “free speech”—once worn proudly like a badge—has, unbelievably, become a paper-thin test no one can pass.
Right now, the US is deep into a full-blown “doxxing fanfare”—and the rules couldn’t be simpler. Whether you’re a colonel or a teacher, a commentator or a random netizen—say the wrong thing about Charlie Kirk’s murder and you could lose your job, your future, or even land in much hotter water.
One Post, One Career Down: The Colonel’s Case Goes Viral
Latest headline: US Army Colonel Scott Stephens just got the boot. His crime? On social media, he said the murder was tragic, but he remarked that Kirk had spent years spreading hate and discrimination on college campuses, and suggested that “We can’t make it political.”
Colonel’s words that sparked a storm
In other words: Kirk’s death is tragic, but the man bears some responsibility. Not exactly a flamethrower of a comment, yet the backlash was instant. Critics pounced: “Kirk did not deserve to be assassinated. What happened to freedom of speech?"
Stephens doubled down: Kirk had spent years inciting political violence, and now he’d become a casualty of what he started.
And it’s not just the military. A high school teacher in South Carolina posted: “Thoughts and prayers to his children but IMHO [in my honest opinion] America became greater today.” The price? Fired under pressure from Republican lawmakers.
New Rules: Welcome to America’s “Accountability Machine”
In today’s America, “free speech” is being replaced by what can only be called an accountability machine. On social media, the hunt is relentless: spot someone making an “inappropriate” comment about Kirk, and immediately broadcast their name and workplace, demanding they be sacked.
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer was first to the megaphone, declaring that anyone “sick enough” to celebrate Kirk’s death should “prepare to have your whole future professional aspirations ruined”. Her warning: Gloat now, and your career is over.
Right-wing firebrand Laura Loomer on the attack
In this climate, new “doxxing” cases flood social media: military officers’ posts aired, teachers’ opinions exposed, even firefighters and commentators get the treatment. The scoreboard? Dozens already lost their jobs and counting.
CNN reports that this feeding frenzy is only picking up speed. Some are even curating live updates: “Who Got Fired Today?”—all in real time. There’s even been an anonymously-registered doxxing site named “Expose Charlie’s Murderers” that “gathered information about people who made posts about Kirk”.
What started as outrage has become a nationwide political purge.
Is There Any “Free Speech” Left To Defend?
So you have to ask: can America’s legendary “free speech” even survive this?
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem put it bluntly after Kirk’s murder: This is a turning point for America and the world. “It feels like a grief has settled on not just the country, but the entire world, something has changed.”
DHS Chief Kristi Noem
She went on with the criticism of the left-wing, stating that “Some of the rhetoric we’re seeing out of the left and out of political animals is ugly and it’s bitter and it’s seeking to seize this opportunity to turn it into evil.”
Elon Musk, never one for restraint, went even further—accusing the left of “celebrating it openly” after Kirk’s death, and branding them “the party of murder and celebrating murder”. In Musk’s world, it seems “the left” and “Democrats” are interchangeable.
This flood of statements from politicians and influencers is turbo-charging the movement. Once upon a time, Americans prided themselves on the motto: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” In today’s America, that sounds hollow.
The Exiles and the Internet Trap
Some of the sharpest changes are happening to America’s political exile community—people who once saw the US as a safe haven, some Democrat, some Republican. Previously, they’d disagree occasionally within their own circles, but that was it.
Now, after Kirk’s death, everything’s tense. Some may have voiced criticism of Kirk—even in their native tongues—never expecting to end up targets themselves. People are tagging Trump-era officials, demanding these “ungrateful” exiles be investigated.
For these folks, the internet simply doesn’t forget. Any statement, present or past, can be used against you. Lose US protection, get sent home—and real danger looms. Exiles facing exile, again. It’s an unsolvable maze.
How Do We Even Talk About This?
So how do we even make sense of all this? Mainland media veteran “Niu Tanqin” makes three observations.
First, America’s “speech purge” is now a mass movement. Republicans used to accuse Democrats of attacking dissenters as “homophobic” or “sexist.” Now the tables are turned—Democrats say Republicans have only doubled down. The result? Political feud is dragging everyone deeper into the mire.
Second, the American “enemy logic” is spinning faster than ever. Oregon scholar Whitney Phillips notes that collectively denouncing those “celebrating Kirk’s death” is just manufacturing new foes. Diverse groups get bundled together, turning into the “public enemy” in conservative circles—and this cycle just keeps fracturing society.
Third, peace and stability suddenly look priceless. The Middle East burns, Europe protests, Russia-Ukraine war slog through generations. And in America, political hate and division have made purges and violence normal. In contrast? China’s quiet stability—built on both system and environment—is something to treasure.
A divided America, Global Times graphics
From Warning to Witch-Hunt: What Kirk’s Murder Became
Charlie Kirk’s murder could have been a wake-up call to reject violence. Instead, it set off a doxxing circus. Now people of all stripes get reported, sacked, and cast out—free speech reduced to empty words.
When politics becomes the only yardstick, rationality is the first to go. America’s rifts and clashes have wrecked its cherished values of freedom—and proved that no society can thrive on endless hostility and purges.
A truly stable society is never a given. It’s those ordinary days—so easy to take for granted—that matter most.
