As the world gears up to bid farewell to 2017 and welcomes the new year, the Central and Eastern US is prepping for a weekend of freezing cold accompanied by snow and sleet. However, such weather conditions may be tough for many to imagine, especially if they are spending their time golfing in Florida and enjoying temperatures ranging between 25 and 27 degree Celsius.
Yes, we are talking about US President Donald Trump, who has been in West Palm Beach since last Friday. And as the temperature drops to numbing levels in the Central and Eastern US, Trump seems to be enjoying the balmy sun in Florida and posting weird tweets that come across as pretty insensitive.
Speaking of the freezing weather condition, the US president tweeted: "In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year's Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!"
In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2017
Trump is known to believe that global warming is a myth and has been vocal about his opinion that countries spending billions of dollars on it is a waste. The Trump administration has already pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord and saying that being a part of it would put the US "at a permanent disadvantage." During his presidential campaign, Trump had promised to withdraw from the agreement and had said that the withdrawal would be beneficial for American businesses and workers.
Such is his scepticism that in 2012 he had even tweeted that global warming was something that was created by China just so that it could hinder America's competitiveness.
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012
However, this time his tongue-in-cheek post may have gone a bit too far considering the conditions have worried many.
Several parts of the US have been witnessing extreme weather conditions this month. A storm hit New York, northern Ohio and northern Michigan over Christmas weekend and the Pennsylvanian city of Erie also remained buried after receiving 34 inches of snow in a single day.
"We're used to snow, don't get me wrong," Erie's mayor, Joe Sinnott, told the New York Times. "But this amount, trying to deal with this, is very atypical." Roads were declared "dangerous and impassable."
"It's been hell around here," Rick Pakela, a retired welder and maintenance worker in Erie, told the Seattle Times, explaining that his family was stranded at home with the city buried under about 5 feet of snow.
