2020 Democratic presidential long shot John Delaney claimed that the fires that have engulfed the Amazon rainforest are a result of President Trump’s trade war with China.
Brazil’s National Space Research Institute reported that the number of fires has risen 85% to more than 77,000 total fires in the last year, with about half of them in the Amazon region.
Delaney discussed the Amazon blaze and other issues during an Tuesday appearance on Fox News’ Outnumbered Overtime.
“A lot of Democrats are talking [about] what’s going on in the Amazon. You opened with it. In reality, that is directly related to trade,” Delaney stated. “The fact that U.S. farmers can’t sell soybeans to China has created an opportunity for Brazil to sell soybeans to China. As a result, farmers are tearing down the Amazon to grow soybeans. And so what Democrats have to understand is that an isolationist approach to the world is not the right answer on any of these issues we care about.”
During the G-7 summit this past weekend, a gathering of representatives from the world’s seven largest economies, the leaders announced it was making $20 million in aid available to the country to fight the fires. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro initially declined the money and then later decided to leave the door open on the possibility of accepting their contributions.
