While many political pundits have stated that Ron DeSantis is a more intelligent version of Trump (Trump 2.0), out of the gate, DeSantis has proven that is not true. In fact, the ignorance he displayed on the Fox News interview with Trey Gowdy on the night of his technically flawed announcement alone should prove disqualifying for him to hold the office of POTUS. Unfortunately, as repeatedly demonstrated, a candidate’s ignorance is not exclusionary in the Republican Party.
The disqualifying statement was DeSantis’ comments regarding the functions and responsibilities of the Department of Defense (DOD). While railing against the undefined term of “woke,” he also stated that global warming was not a Defense issue. Specifically, in that interview DeSantis stated, “But when revered institutions like those in our military are more concerned with matters not central to the mission, whether it’s global warming or gender ideology and pronouns, morale declines and recruiting suffers.” In reality, climate change is an existential threat to DoD and the country, and a driving factor for the potential engagements that DoD is facing around the world today. Those issues will intensify in the years and decades to come.
To the credit of the DOD, many military analysts have already recognized the seriousness of the issues and begun planning for a long list of contingencies. In 2014 the DoD released a significant report addressing climate change as a national security issue. At that time, then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told our allies, “The loss of glaciers will strain water supplies in several areas of our hemisphere.” Further, he stated, “Destruction and devastation from hurricanes can sow the seeds for instability. Droughts and crop failures can leave millions of people without any lifeline, and trigger waves of mass migration.” Since then, nearly every SECDEF has commented on the national security implications of climate change. Yet DeSantis claims it is not central to the mission of the DoD.
Republicans continually complain about the security of our southern border with Mexico. While there are many reasons for migration from the south, the effects of climate change are important factors. As the Council on Foreign Relations noted in a study titled Climate Change and Regional Instability in Central America, “In addition to extreme weather events, irregular precipitation patterns, deforestation, and high temperatures increasingly contribute to upended livelihoods and rampant food insecurity. From 2018 to 2021, the number of people going hungry in Central America nearly quadrupled, topping out at close to eight million.” But in a display of stunning ignorance, Ron DeSantis does not acknowledge the national security implications of climate change, stating it is not a core mission of the DoD.
Beyond Central America, climate change is already having a very significant impact on tens, if not hundreds of millions, of people around the world. As NOAA points out, “In the United States, almost 30 percent of the population lives in relatively high population-density coastal areas, where sea level plays a role in flooding, shoreline erosion, and hazards from storms. Globally, 8 of the world’s 10 largest cities are near a coast, according to the U.N. Atlas of the Oceans.” As people on that order of magnitude are forced to move, that will generate many problems the resolution of which will impact the DoD. Projecting future requirements is a core function of DoD. Global warming/climate change is critical component of that analysis.
The nonpartisan American Security Project also examined the implications of climate change and wrote, “Climate change will not only affect American security through impacts on the economy and our physical infrastructure (roads, bridges, airports, etc.); it can also affect our domestic and international military bases. Physical changes to the environment such as flooding, drought and extreme weather events may disrupt U.S. military capabilities and facilities, including military training ranges and bases. They reiterated the government’s findings that, “The National Intelligence Council [NIC] judged that more than 30 U.S. military installations were already facing elevated levels of risk from rising sea levels. DoD’s operational readiness hinges on continued access to land, air, and sea training and test space.” But Ron DeSantis believes that concerns about global climate change are not a core mission of the DoD.
In 2018, Science Journal reported that the, “Center for Climate & Security in Washington, D.C. — surveyed more than 3,500 military sites around the world. It found that about 50% of bases reported effects from events like storm surge flooding, wildfire, drought and wind.” Still, for DeSantis worrying about half of all military bases would not constitute a core mission for DoD.
Of course, it is not like DeSantis is the mayor of Omaha, or any in-land geographic location. Rather, his state, Florida, is already experiencing disasters from climate change. On the Miami-Dade County website they have been addressing the negative effects of sea-level rise stating “Climate change and sea level rise are long term stresses that will amplify other issues in our county from intensifying storm events and hurricanes to impacting human health and social vulnerability.”
Homestead Air Force Base is located in Dade County. Posted on the United States, Department of Defense, Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI) website it is noted that, “sea level rise and an increase in storm surge magnitude and storm event frequency due to climate change threaten Homestead ARB’s mission capabilities because of the increased probability for potential damages or flooding which may delay or halt mission activities.” Certainly, those are issues for DoD to consider as part of their core mission. It seems DeSantis is oblivious to the impact of climate change in the state he now governs. How then can he be expected to respond to these serious, if not existential issues on a national level?
It is unfathomable that a POTUS candidate would preemptively eliminate such a serious factor as climate change from consideration. It proves that such a person is unqualified for the position. It is noteworthy that DeSantis chose to emphasize his ignorance on the opening salvo for his campaign. It clearly demonstrates poor judgement and a significant lack of cerebral capability. But then, he is playing to a base that is undereducated and also are devoid of adequate critical-thinking skills.