Trump Bends the Facts on Lightbulbs
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized energy-efficient lightbulbs, saying that the bulbs people are “being forced to use” are more expensive, contain hazardous gases and give off light that’s “not as good” as incandescents. Experts, however, say that’s an outdated and inaccurate description of the current technology.
Much of what Trump said applies to some degree to compact fluorescent, or CFL, bulbs, which contain mercury and tend to have less-than-ideal color quality. But light-emitting diode, or LED, bulbs are the dominant environmentally friendly technology. They have no such safety risks and in most cases provide comparable or even superior light at a cheaper lifetime cost than incandescents.
Trump spoke about lightbulbs at his Sept. 9 rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he referenced his administration’s decision to reverse a 2017 rule that would have extended energy-efficiency standards to irregularly shaped bulbs and prohibited the sale of most traditional incandescents by Jan. 1, 2020. Trump said he wasn’t a “vain person,” but that he looks “better under an incandescent light than these crazy lights that are beaming down on.”
He said “they were forcing you to buy lightbulbs that cost a fortune” and that the bulbs were “very dangerous with all of the gases.” If a lightbulb breaks, he added, “it’s considered almost like a waste site.”
Three days later, he gave those comments another spin at a dinner speech delivered at the House Republican retreat in Baltimore. “The bulb that we’re being forced to use — No. 1, to me,
