by Daniel Brouse
June 4, 2025
For years, the Republican Party wages a systematic campaign to undermine science and dismantle the foundations of public education. This effort is most prominently led by Donald Trump, whose presidency marks a dramatic escalation in anti-scientific rhetoric and policy.
Trump’s denial of climate science is blatant and persistent. In 2012, he tweets: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” In 2015, he tells the press, “I’m not a big believer in man-made climate change.” By 2016, he goes further, calling climate science “bullshit.” These aren’t just offhand comments—they translate directly into federal policy. As president, Trump withdraws the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, guts the Environmental Protection Agency, and rolls back more than 100 environmental protections. His administration actively censors scientific findings, buries federal climate assessments, and elevates fossil fuel expansion as a central economic strategy, regardless of long-term environmental costs.
But Trump isn’t the only figure promoting science denial. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite his environmental roots, becomes a leading voice in spreading misinformation about vaccines and public health. His misleading and often debunked claims about vaccine safety fuel vaccine hesitancy and undermine trust in medical institutions.
Meanwhile, former WWE executive Linda McMahon—an influential Republican donor and Trump administration official—aligns with broader GOP efforts to weaken the Department of Education. These moves reflect a long-term strategy to defund public education, delegitimize academic expertise, and promote private and religious schooling over secular, science-based curricula.
Perhaps most emblematic of the broader problem is a bill recently passed by the Louisiana House of Representatives. The bill seeks to outlaw “chemtrails”—a conspiracy theory that falsely claims the government or secret organizations are dispersing chemicals or metals into the atmosphere using aircraft. Proponents of this myth suggest these so-called “chemtrails” are part of covert operations for mind control, population control, or weather manipulation. In reality, the white streaks seen behind planes are contrails—harmless trails of condensed water vapor formed at high altitudes, often appearing as cirrus clouds.
That such a bill can pass a state legislature underscores the growing influence of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience in mainstream politics. Instead of addressing real, evidence-based challenges like climate change, air pollution, and the collapse of biodiversity, lawmakers chase fantasies fueled by internet disinformation and distrust of expertise.
The consequences of this war on science and education are profound. As the planet warms, storms intensify, and ecosystems unravel, the U.S. faces mounting climate threats. Ignoring or denying these problems doesn’t make them go away—it only delays action, deepens inequality, and increases human suffering.
Science is not a partisan issue. It is a foundation of progress, resilience, and public well-being. Undermining it for short-term political gain isn’t just reckless—it is a betrayal of future generations.