Donald Trump is famously critical of windmills, deeming them unsightly—a sentiment reflecting his deep-seated nature as a petty, rumor-loving aspirant of the Manhattan elite. This year, he has aggressively opposed clean energy initiatives. While some Republicans online might revel in this as a victory in their cultural battle against progressives, it represents a significant economic attack on states like Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, which are leading producers of wind energy in the United States.

Former Iowa Governor and Trump’s ex-Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, emphasized to the Wall Street Journal the importance of wind energy for Iowa. “We want to make sure that [President Trump] understands wind energy is important for Iowa,” he stated. Iowa’s current Republican Governor, Kim Reynolds, also highlighted to the WSJ, “We don’t have gas or oil in our state, but we have renewables. We have biofuels and we have wind. We are on a wind path. So, we can make it work for our state.” In Virginia, Republican Governor Glenn Younkin is making efforts to prevent Trump from shutting down an offshore wind farm that is currently under development. Bill Murray, a senior vice president involved with the project, noted in February that “The fuel cost savings from 2.6 gigawatts of offshore wind are eye-popping.”

Yet, our President claims to be the top expert on wind energy. But what do three governors of leading wind energy states really know, right? “Energy prices have been going down, except in certain states dominated by Democrats, where they’ve installed windmills everywhere,” Trump claimed earlier this year. “Whenever you see a windmill, you should think high energy costs.”

However, Trump’s own federal data contradicts his claims. A report by Politico citing EIA data stated, “Among the 22 states that generated a higher-than-average share of their electricity from wind and solar, 17 had lower-than-average electricity costs in June.” Despite this, energy prices nationwide have been climbing, surging 30 percent on average since 2020—twice the inflation rate over the last year. This price increase, which predates Trump’s second term, is exacerbated by his stance against renewable energy, which fails to meet the rising demand driven by technologies such as AI data centers.

Moreover, Trump’s tariffs are inflating energy costs as his push for domestic manufacturing relies on components sourced from abroad. “Long-term costs for utility-scale energy storage projects could rise by 12 to over 50 percent, depending on the tariff scenario,” reported Utility Dive, citing data from Wood Mackenzie.

This anti-renewable energy campaign is particularly detrimental to Republican states. Analysis by Energy Innovation of the GOP bill revealed that energy costs in Republican-leaning states could climb more than $600 annually. A report by The Guardian earlier this year noted, “Bills in Missouri will spike the most, by $640 a year, followed by significant increases in Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Texas”—all states that supported Trump partly due to already high energy costs, which have only escalated during his tenure.

According to an analysis of EIA data by Politico, “U.S. power prices rose an average of 23.4 percent from June 2021 to June of this year.” Just yesterday, the Trump administration further burdened its supporters by suddenly canceling a major solar project in Nevada—a state that backed Trump last November. The Esmeralda 7 solar project, capable of delivering a massive 6.2 gigawatts of power, was terminated abruptly, enough to power three Hoover Dams. This decision will undoubtedly lead to higher energy bills in Nevada.

Trump’s economic understanding, which he likely missed out on in Economics 101, fails to recognize that when energy supply doesn’t meet demand, prices soar. With energy prices linked to inflation, this exacerbates the economic stagnation he is causing. By increasing energy costs, imposing additional charges on imports, and threatening further tariffs on China, all while undermining the labor market with his restrictive immigration policies, Trump is painting a grim economic picture and stunting potential growth in an already struggling American economy.

Many Republican states are bearing the brunt of these policies. Even as Trump permits some Biden-era clean energy grants to remain, he has canceled $8 billion worth for Democratic states, openly admitting his intent to wage a war on America. In Nebraska, a rural clinic has already shut down due to GOP Medicaid cuts, and about one-third of rural hospitals are at risk of closing, despite a $50 billion rural hospital fund included in the GOP bill. Trump’s tariffs are also devastating farmers by hindering exports and deporting their labor force, while simultaneously enabling international competitors like Argentina to thrive—they received a $20 billion bailout from Trump and immediately reduced export taxes on soybeans, undercutting many American farmers who supported Trump and have seen their exports to China plummet from over $12 billion last year to zero. This widespread economic havoc, all aimed at undermining progressives, disproportionately impacts Trump’s own voter base, revealing the true cost of his policies.