Former US President Donald Trump has shared an oddly rosy perspective on the climate change crisis, suggesting it will mean more beachfront properties.
Trump, who was speaking at a rally in Anchorage, Alaska on Saturday (local time), suggested Americans have bigger things to worry about than climate change.
"Based on the Green New Deal, you remember they started it 12 years ago, you only have about seven years left," Trump told the crowd.
"I don't think anybody is too worried right?" he continued. "You can worry about nuclear warming but you can't worry about the global warming.
"They said the other day I heard somebody say the oceans are going to rise one-eighth of an inch over the next 300 years, we have bigger problems than that. We will have a little bit more beachfront property, that's not the worst thing in the world."
The former United States President was referring to the Green New Deal (GND) which is a set of proposals that call for public policy to address climate change as well as create jobs and reduce economic inequality.
In 2019, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey pushed to get legislation passed for a Green New Deal but it failed to progress to the Senate.
It's unclear what predictions Trump is talking about when it comes to sea level rises. But a recent report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found sea levels along the United States coastlines will rise by as much as one foot by 2050.
The report paints an alarming picture for the roughly 127 million Americans who live in coastal areas.
According to NOAA, flooding is expected to become more frequent and damaging while storm surges will become more intense. The increases will also damage wetland ecosystems and increase erosion.
It wasn't the only controversial moment from the rally.
The former President went on to drop an F-bomb during a rambling rant about a trip he took to Iraq to speak with generals about defeating the Islamic State.
Trump said one of the generals vowed to "hit 'em in the f***ing centre".
"I'd hit 'em on the left. I'd hit 'em on the right. I'd hit 'em in the f***ing centre… Right smack," Trump said.
The rally comes as Trump is at the centre of a myriad of criminal investigations into his business practices and a House inquiry into his involvement in the January 6 Capitol riots.
