- German far-right AfD to march in city hit by Christmas market attack
- Ireland centre Henshaw signs IRFU contract extension
- Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates
- Clock ticks down on France government nomination
- Mozambique on edge as judges rule on disputed election
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
Trump's strategy on climate? Amplify myths about Harris
An unrelentingly bitter US presidential race, defined by name-calling, attack ads and stunted campaigning, has so far left little space for discussion about climate change, despite the world experiencing unprecedented heat and disasters.
But with Donald Trump now facing Kamala Harris rather than Joe Biden, the Republican has used recent rallies to echo misinformation and memes on X, including fictional bans on red meat and gas stoves.
The aim? To undermine Harris.
"Kamala called for slashing consumption of red meat to fight climate change," Trump said during a July 27 rally in the state of Minnesota.
The Democratic nominee would "get rid of all cows … and I guess that at some point, they'll go after the humans," the former president added, echoing "depopulation" conspiracy theories that have plagued Harris in right-wing spaces since she waded into the topic of "climate anxiety" among younger generations at a White House press conference last year.
J.D. Vance, Trump's running mate, amplified the claims in an August 3 speech in Atlanta, saying Harris "wants to take away your gas stoves, she even wants to take away your ability to eat red meat."
Such climate myths took on a life of their own on X, encouraged by conservative commentators in swing states and MAGA accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.
However, Harris made no such campaign promise.
She has cooked with a gas stove herself and noted in a 2019 environmental panel that she "love(s) cheeseburgers from time to time," although she has supported the idea of updating dietary guidelines.
"A tried-and-true tactic in politics is to misrepresent your opponent's positions to make them sound extreme and unacceptable. Trump and Vance are doing exactly that with Vice President Harris's positions on climate action," said Edward Maibach, director of George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication.
- Harris's climate record -
The false narratives add onto Trump and Vance's criticism of the vice president's stance on issues such as fracking, a violently disruptive underground oil and gas extraction technique.
Harris initially advocated banning the practice in 2019 before becoming Biden's running mate in 2020. She has more recently sought to avoid questions about it, particularly in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania where fracking is big business.
Still, climate activists have mostly saluted Harris, whose environmental stance has historically been to the left of the president -- notably in going after oil companies as California attorney general.
The Biden administration also pushed a renewable energy shift in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in reducing carbon pollution in US history.
Trump has vehemently opposed the legislation, adopting the slogan "drill, baby, drill" to sum up his fossil fuel-friendly approach.
The League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group, told AFP the Trump campaign's amplification of misinformation on "widespread bans" constitutes "ridiculous scare tactics" perpetrated to undermine recent "climate progress."
- Potential to 'backfire' -
Responding to AFP's request for comment, Harris spokeswoman Lauren Hitt did not address specific claims from Trump and his running mate, but said the Democrat "is focused on a future where all Americans have clean air, clean water, and affordable, reliable energy."
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly dismissed the threats of climate change.
"The biggest threat is not global warming, where the ocean is going to rise one-eighth of an inch over the next 400 years," he told Elon Musk on X in mid-August. Musk officially endorsed Trump in July.
More than a third of registered voters disagree, saying global warming is very important to their vote in the 2024 election, according to a recent survey from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
"I suspect the tactic will backfire with a relatively smaller number of uncommitted voters, most of whom are concerned about climate change," Maibach said.
"Trump and Vance attacking VP Harris on her climate positions will hurt them more than help them."
H.Silva--PC