January 10, 2025 — Debate surrounding the recent deaths of several large whales that have washed up on New England shores ramped up this week after President-elect Donald Trump linked the fatalities to offshore wind development.
During a Jan. 7 press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump called wind energy “the most expensive energy ever” and likened wind turbines to “dropping garbage in a field.” He specifically pointed to the Massachusetts area, and said, “the windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously.” Trump vowed to halt offshore wind development.
His comments have drawn mixed reactions. Scientists and environmental organizations emphasized that there is no current evidence linking wind farms to whale deaths, while some activists welcomed Trump’s support for halting offshore wind development amid ongoing concerns about its impact on marine life.
“Offshore wind is dangerous to marine life, very costly to build (and) maintain, and will harm the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales,” Vallorie Oliver, president of ACK for Whales, a Nantucket-based grassroots group, said.