Jake Tapper ends up wearing the dunce cap after attempting to school Ivanka Trump on lower greenhouse gas emissions

Earlier today, Ivanka Trump tweeted about decreased greenhouse gas emissions under Donald Trump’s administration:

FACT: Greenhouse gases generated by the U.S. will slide 9.2% this year, tumbling to the lowest level in at least three decades. @EPA

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 24, 2020

CNN’s Jake Tapper would just like to point out that ackshually, emissions will be lower because of the COVID19 pandemic’s devastating effects on the U.S. economy:

This is largely because of the pandemic and the economic catastrophe it wrought. “The biggest drop in emissions this year came from the transportation sector, where emissions fell 14 percent, dragged down by a steep drop in air travel and automobile trips.” https://t.co/FTgyAliz2M

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 24, 2020

2/ Kind of an important detail. https://t.co/L6eRe0SDUP

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 24, 2020

And that’s a fair point to make. A stifled economy would understandably have an impact on emissions.

But Ivanka also brought up a fair point:

US CO2 emissions in 2019 were the lowest they have been since 1992. Per capita emissions were lower in 2019 than they’ve been at any time since at least 1950. https://t.co/iXebSmyXRR

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 24, 2020

Well, Jake, for the record, is not impressed:

Ah so now we’re talking about last year? Ok cool yes that’s true. So why was that?

“The story of the emissions decline has largely been one of market forces—rather than policies—that have made utilities close coal plants in favor of cheaper natural gas and renewable energy.” https://t.co/dIO44Ldtwc

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 24, 2020

So, basically the current COVID destruction of our economy only starts to achieve the goals of the GND. We need to put far more people out of work, close more businesses, and isolate people from human contact to really make a difference.

But, go on Jake & report the real story https://t.co/nnADPa6lie

— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) November 24, 2020

The real story? You mean the one about letting the market work?

Things are only good if they happen due to government force https://t.co/zGrteA4uI4

— The Partyman (@PartymanRandy) November 24, 2020

And that’s kind of what Tapper’s argument appears to boil down to, isn’t it? At least that’s the argument he’s attempting to make. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that he actually made a pretty great case for a fiscally conservative, i.e. free market, economic approach.

okay but it is a policy to let market forces do it rather than put big government in there https://t.co/QzZ23M4FSu

— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) November 24, 2020

So the market can take care of this. No need for gov intrusion.

— Kyle (@kswatchman) November 24, 2020

You’re so close Jake. I mean you even said the words.

Pretty wild how the free market takes care of it without taxing them out of existence or creating useless laws that make it harder for the economy to grow. https://t.co/ovrZPCbZ5L

— The Dank Knight ? (@capeandcowell) November 24, 2020

Thanks Jake, for proving the point that conservatives have always made, that the free market would always be better at addressing climate change than the government. https://t.co/H9HA8Xivdj

— Fiscal Therapist (@BigLifeMark) November 24, 2020

Oh well, Jake. At least you tried.