Fighting Imaginary Battles: Trump Mourns Bald Eagle in the U.S., Which Was Actually a Falcon in Israel
Trump’s Continued War on Wind Energy: A Closer Look at Misinformation
Even while vacationing at his Florida resort, former President Donald Trump continues his relentless campaign against wind energy. Recently, he took to social media to share an unsettling image aimed at rallying public opinion against renewable energy sources.
On Tuesday, Trump posted a photograph of a dead bird located beneath a wind turbine, lamenting, “Windmills are killing all of our beautiful Bald Eagles!” This statement was swiftly amplified by an official White House account on X, which boasts over a million followers.
However, Trump’s attempt to stir outrage over this image was undermined by inaccuracies. A closer examination revealed that the photo does not depict a bald eagle, nor was it taken in the United States. The image actually shows a falcon that was killed at a wind farm in Israel eight years ago.
In his haste to post the image, Trump overlooked two critical visual clues: the absence of the distinct markings characteristic of a bald eagle and the presence of Hebrew writing on the turbine in the background.
Further investigation into Israeli wind farms, which have been associated with bird fatalities, confirms that the image in question was indeed sourced from Hedy Ben Eliahou, an employee of Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority. This image was featured in a 2017 report by News, detailing the impact of wind turbines on local wildlife.
If Trump, or his advisors, had traced the image back to its origins, they would have discovered that the Israeli parks department shares his concerns regarding the implications of wind energy on avian life. A report noted that “wind turbines cause significant damage to bird and bat life in Israel, beyond the level deemed tolerable by nature authorities.”
Furthermore, the report highlighted that Israeli wind turbines reportedly kill around two dozen birds annually. This led to significant activism from zoos managing eagle-breeding programs, who opposed the establishment of wind farms in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights due to fears for the already endangered vulture population.
