Biden to hit Trump on climate in Iowa
- Ben Geman, author of Axios Generate
Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Joe Biden will use a speech in Davenport, Iowa on Tuesday to attack President Trump on climate change during a day that both men are in the state.
Why it matters: The remarks represent Biden's highest-profile attack on Trump on the issue since the early Democratic frontrunner unveiled his climate plan last week. Iowa, like much of the Midwest and Plains, has been hard hit by floods this spring.
What he'll say: "We’re seeing devastating floods all across America — right here in Davenport. You’ve gone through it. Farmers all across Iowa can’t plant their fields. Record flood levels, millions of dollars in damage and cleanup," according to Biden's prepared remarks.
- "And still Trump denies climate change. What did he tell Piers Morgan in that interview? 'Well, the weather goes both ways.'"
The big picture, via Axios science editor Andrew Freedman: May was the second-wettest month on record in the contiguous U.S., as torrential rains proved relentless across the nation's midsection.
- The past 12 months have been the wettest such period on record — with flooding on numerous rivers rivaling or exceeding the great floods of the past century, including 1927 and 1993.
- Precipitation extremes, including heavy precipitation events, as well as sharp whiplash-like swings between drought and flood, are expected to become more common and severe as the climate continues to warm due to human activities.
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