It comes somewhat as a surprise that climate change denier Donald Trump has finally withdrawn the nomination of Kathleen Hartnett White as environmental policy advisor, a climate change sceptic. White has got her academic degrees in humanities and religion at Stanford University and attended one year at Texas Tech University law school. It was announced that president Trump himself has nominated her to chair the Council on Environmental Quality.

Madame White does not have any qualification for the job, possibly except obstructing science, if that is what the president of the United States wants. One would expect that even Trump had to regard her performance at a Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works hearing and those of other nominees in November 2017 utterly poor. She wasn’t even able to answer basic questions. But no, Donald Trump had resubmitted her nomination in January. Maybe meanwhile even Trump got cold feet.

One would expect that responsible leaders surround themselves with advisers who enlighten them, and dare to do so. Not loggerheads. But this leader is so different.

4 February 2018 @ 10:59 am.

Last modified February 4, 2018.