In his State of the Union address on 24 February 2026, President Donald Trump admitted that the United States is the “hottest country on Earth”. Of course, he meant that it was doing well and going places thanks to his wonderful presidency. But many people would probably say the US is a country not only getting physically hotter due to his actions to increase global warming but also in crisis thanks to his illegal and unconstitutional activities in ways that weaken democratic institutions, slow down the economy, roll back protections for public health and the environment, and put health care and Social Security benefits at risk for millions of Americans, as documented by Congressman Steve Cohen, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and elsewhere.

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry said “It’s very clear the administration is trading facts and trading science for denial and the wilful negligence that will cost lives and health and countless taxpayers dollars”.

Regarding his actions that will increase US greenhouse gas emissions, we reported on 21 January that Trump has withdrawn the US from the UN Climate Convention and other climate bodies, the BBC reports on some of the potential impacts of Trump’s reversal of the so-called endangerment finding on 12 February, a key Obama-era scientific ruling that underpins much of US environmental legislation. These include

• fewer restrictions placed on greenhouse-gas-producing industries
• reducing the cost of fossil fuel vehicles
• increasing the number of health problems and deaths due to pollutants including greenhouse gases