In any other timeline, the US president claiming — without any evidence — that a major source of renewable energy causes cancer would be the subject of serious scrutiny and concerned questioning.

In our world, however, it’s just another day with Donald Trump in the White House.

Trump falsely claimed during a Republican fundraising event on Tuesday night that the noise from wind turbines “causes cancer” while sprinkling in other spurious claims about wind energy, like turbines causing property values to plummet by 75 per cent upon their installation.

The outlandish claims — which are not supported by facts — echo a years-long theme for President Trump surrounding renewable energy. Put simply, the man absolutely hates wind turbines (especially when their construction is being considered at sites near one of his precious golf courses.)

Trump lambasted turbines as “ugly” and a “horrible idea” in court documents before assuming the Oval Office; he’s claimed in the past that they don’t work unless it is constantly windy, which negates the groundbreaking discovery of a thing called batteries; he even launched a bizarre tirade at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year about the idea of not being able to watch television when there isn’t any wind, crying, “Darling, please, tell the wind to blow!”

The sheer stupidity of his comments (regardless of political ideology, we should all be able to admit these falsities are just that — stupid) neglect a very real and credible danger to American lives: Donald Trump’s environmental policies themselves.

As the president mocks Democrats calling for a Green New Deal and boasts about his lack of awareness on all things climate change, residents of Flint, Michigan still find it unsafe to drink their tap water four years after poisonous levels of lead were discovered in the town’s water source.

Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 / 23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is “still considering” whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Beto O’Rourke The former Texas congressman told Oprah Winfrey that he “has been thinking about running for presidency”, but stopped short of formally announcing his bid to run in 2020. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege.” Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual advisor has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Kerry The former secretary of state has said he is still thinking about whether to run. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor– with a net worth of around $50bn – has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in “the next month or so” whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is “ready to do this” and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a “50 per cent” chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesn’t think he will run for president, but “never say never”. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Meanwhile, a district that voted for Trump has been forced to confront his administration over “serious mismanagement” and “significant delays” at the Environmental Protection Agency over a rash of child cancers in their town. A carcinogenic plume of trichloroethylene, or TCE, has been spreading underground from an old industrial site in the town and scientists recently found that it was releasing vapours into people's homes. The Trump administration has been trying to weaken restrictions on TCE and other toxic chemicals in a drive to "cut red tape" which is being touted as friendly to big business.

Harvard scientists have additionally written in the Journal of the American Medical Association that Trump’s environmental plans could spur an additional 80,000 deaths per decade — which they call an “extremely conservative estimate” — thanks to actions like repealing the Clean Power Plan and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord. “This sobering statistic captures only a small fraction of the cumulative public health damages associated with the full range of rollbacks and systemic actions proposed by the Trump administration,” David Cutler and Francesca Dominici wrote.

The effects of Trump’s anti-environmental policies are already upon us. Farm workers in California are becoming sick thanks to pesticides the previous administration attempted to ban. Methane burning improperly from oil wells near the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation has caused enormous plumes of smoke while the cancer-causing chemical benzene leaks out from storage tanks. West Virginia is suffering from hundreds of pounds of selenium in their waterways, which is contributing to rising arsenic and mercury levels.

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All this, as the president attempts to slash funding to the National Cancer Institute by $900m (£684m).