Washington, DC -- Today, while announcing an executive order that severely slashes the permitting process for infrastructure projects, Donald Trump answered questions about his comments, and lack thereof, on the horrific events that transpired in Charlottesville, VA on August 11th and 12th.
Previously, it was reported that part of Trump’s executive order would include a roll-back of flood risk safety standards.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“Donald Trump was supposed to tout his plans to rebuild America’s infrastructure, but after his seven months in office and his disgraceful remarks today, it’s clear that the only thing he’s built is a larger platform for Nazis, bigots, and white supremacists. Work must be done to fix not just our aging infrastructure, but our society.
“Today, as with countless other days during this Administration, Trump has made it clear that he will continue to seek to silence those who oppose his unpopular, divisive agenda. This divisive agenda includes the directive Trump announced today, which seeks to shut out the American public when it comes to the threats posed by dirty projects that corporate polluters want to jam through their communities.
“This order would result in an environmental justice crisis, similar to Trump’s approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline, during which he silenced the Standing Rock Sioux's call for a full environmental review while keeping the White House phone lines down. People fighting against projects like the Bayou Bridge pipeline in southern Louisiana and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina deserve to have their voices heard over massive corporations, but Trump is slamming the door in their faces.
“After today, it has become more obvious than ever that Trump does not care about the public and he clearly does not care about justice. We, as a people, can and must do better.”
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