Big companies get in line with Trump
The Financial Times revealed that statements on climate change from leading corporations, such as Walmart and Kraft Heinz, have been deleted or rewritten. It is believed these policy changes are not a coincidence. After all, the constitutionally disqualified “president” of the United States believes the greatest existential threat to human survival is a hoax, so why not volunteer to blindly stumble over the cliff with him? (I’ll bet at least at one point in their miserable lives the CEOs of these companies made a sneering, disparaging reference to Neville Chamberlain and the cowardice of appeasement.)
Trump has launched sweeping attacks on environmental policy since taking office. Obedient drones in his “administration” have removed or downgraded mentions of climate change across US government websites. Trump’s MAGA base has fallen hook, line and sinker for wacky conspiracy theories over the years, including the preposterous idea that climate change is a hoax. Apparently some US companies decided to appease Trump and his minions and got into lockstep. Or is it goosestep?
Walmart expunged part of its website that said it was “deeply committed to addressing climate change.” Last year the retailer said that “Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. If we don’t take more aggressive action now, the damage will only worsen, and the consequences will be disastrous for this and future generations.” These references were removed and the text on the webpage significantly altered last December, after Trump was elected, ahem, “president.”
One of the great things about the internet’s so-called “Wayback Machine” (archive.org) is that it can sometimes catch dishonest politicians and lying corporations in their lies. It’s no use saying that they never changed a policy if the Wayback Machine, which tracks different versions of websites over time, says otherwise. There’s no such thing as an Orwellian “memory hole,” at least not yet. So these companies must acknowledge their part in the worldwide disaster of climate change.
But it is chilling to note how quickly some companies, institutions and individuals have obeyed Trump in advance. The minute he took office, virtually every coward on the planet scrambled for a seat next to the fascist asshole.
Even so, I am deeply disappointed with the companies that have voluntarily abandoned the cause of climate change merely because Trump believes it’s a hoax. Do they honestly think he will not destroy them no matter what they do? Do they believe they will remain immune to his absurd tariffs and his mind-numbingly moronic foreign policy? They live in the dreamworld of the terminally stupid.
I have a long-standing dislike of Walmart and have never set foot in one of their stores in my life. I am fully aware of their rapacious and bottomless greed, and was surprised to learn they had ever had anything serious to say about climate change in the first place. But most companies should be aware that many of their customers are increasingly climate conscious. If they abandon the planet they will learn to regret it. The Trump disaster will one day fade and go away, the impending climate disaster will not. We won’t forget where they stood and the cowards they showed themselves to be.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.