Trump attacks energy-efficient lightbulbs

07:00 PM October, 10 2019

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By Dino Grandoni
October 10 at 8:27 AM

President Trump renewed his attack on energy-efficient lightbulbs, disparaging the way they make him look -- and holding them up as a prime example of his deregulatory agenda.

Trump ad-libbed praise of old-fashioned and energy-intensive incandescent bulbs as he announced a pair of executive orders on transparency in the guidance and enforcement of regulations.

"Of course, who cares about looks؟" Trump said. "But you look better with incandescent lights."

By contrast, he said energy-efficient lightbulbs are "a much more expensive lightbulb that does not have a good-looking light."

The off-the-cuff commentary shows how the lightbulb has quickly become one of the president's go-to examples when it comes to explaining why his administration is rolling back so many Obama-era regulations. Last month, the Energy Department prolonged the lives of incandescent lightbulbs by reversing energy-efficiency standards put in place on President Obama's last day in office.

Yet the image-conscious president's criticism takes on a uniquely Trumpian flare by focusing how the lightbulbs make him look personally.

During a policy retreat with House Republicans in Baltimore last month, for example, Trump drew laughs when he asked, "what’s with the lightbulb؟"

He continued: "The bulb that we’re being forced to use, No. 1 to me, most importantly, the light’s no good. I always look orange. And so do you. The light is the worst."

The Obama-era standards, an effort to slow down climate change, would have effectively phased out certain traditional bulbs by Jan. 1 and eased the way for the wider use of more energy-efficient compact fluorescent and LED bulbs. According to one study, Trump's move to undo the standards will result in $14 billion in higher energy costs per year.

But Trump's energy officials said it was offering consumers more options when they go to the hardware store, an argument Trump himself echoed on Wednesday.

"We are allowing people to choose," Trump said. "They can purchase less expensive lightbulbs. It will look better. Or they can spend more money on what they were doing, and that is fine."

Yet Trump's personal motivation may be flawed: Newer lightbulbs aren't responsible for Trump's signature orange hue, a number of photographers and a makeup artist told The Post's Rebecca Tan last month. According to Jason Kelly, the official makeup artist for the 2016 Republican National Convention, Trump's skin tone is more likely the result of artificial tanning and bronzer.

PLAYS

— Another wild turn during Trump's press conference: The president took his latest jab at the Golden State during his winding remarks. This time it was about cars. “We’re going against California … they make their cars so light it’s papier-mache and you get in an accident, it’s very very dangerous,” he said. The administration and the nation's most populous state are currently locked in a legal fight about pollution standards for cars and light trucks. The president has previously criticized energy-efficient vehicles as lightweight. During a rally in New Mexico last month he said "when somebody hits me, I want to be in as close to an army tank as possible."
AP)
— Chaos in California as hundreds of thousands are in the dark: Pacific Gas and Electric shut off the power for more than half a million customers in 20 counties, mostly north of San Francisco, as part of a planned blackout to curb the risk of sparking wildfires. The utility delayed a second round of outages because of favorable weather — but there could still be up to a million households eventually impacted by the proactive shutdowns.

The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2019/10/10/the-energy-202-trump-attacks-energy-efficient-lightbulbs-says-you-look-better-with-incandescent/5d9e2c2f602ff16116ea48a3/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2019/10/10/the-energy-202-trump-attacks-energy-efficient-lightbulbs-says...c2f602ff16116ea48a3/