President Donald Trump used a major U.S.-Saudi investment gathering to call for immediate investigations into those who pushed radical climate policies, arguing those policies hurt the economy and rewarded failure. Speaking at the Kennedy Center, he blasted the shifting language around climate issues and tied his push for energy dominance to strong U.S. growth and renewed foreign investment. The speech mixed policy critique, political messaging, and a warm reception to nearly $1 trillion in planned Saudi investment.
Trump told the crowd that the public has rejected far-left regulatory models aimed at curbing climate change, and he went after the changing terminology activists use. He noted the shift from “global warming” to “climate change” and used that language shift to argue the movement shields itself from accountability. His tone was blunt and unapologetic, aiming to reconnect voters to jobs and energy security rather than abstract climate jargon.
At one point he mocked the broadness of the language used by activists, repeating the exact line: “Perfect words, ‘climate change.’ They’re covered if it rains, if it snows, if it’s warm, it’s climate change, ‘it’s destroying the world'”. He followed that up with another pointed line demanding scrutiny: “It’s a little conspiracy out there. We have to investigate them immediately. They probably are being investigated.” Those quotes underlined his call for accountability rather than more regulations.
Trump also hammered the economic consequences he attributes to green policies, saying plainly that those approaches “punish success, rewarded failure and produced disaster, including the worst inflation in our country’s history.” He framed the economic pain of recent years as the direct result of an elite agenda that prioritizes signaling over results. For him, the fix is less regulation, more production, and reclaiming American jobs and industry.
During the forum, which gathered global investors and leaders, Trump highlighted his administration’s energy agenda and declared October “National Energy Dominance Month.” He used that proclamation to contrast his priorities with what he called the Biden administration’s “war on American energy,” saying the prior policies closed coal plants, weakened the grid, and shipped energy jobs overseas. His message was simple: energy policy should make America stronger and more independent.
The event itself drew heavyweight participants and big investment pledges, including a commitment from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to increase planned U.S. investment to nearly $1 trillion. Trump welcomed the boost, calling the interest in American opportunity “great” and saying the numbers being done are unprecedented. He framed foreign capital flows as validation of U.S. economic potential when policies support growth and lower costs.
White House material released around the event leaned into the same themes, arguing the previous administration wasted taxpayer dollars on virtue signaling while the Trump approach trusts Americans to manage natural resources. The official language included the exact phrase: “Unlike the previous administration, which wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on virtue signaling and ineffective grifts, the Trump Administration’s policies are rooted in the belief that Americans are the best stewards of our vast natural resources — no ‘Green New Scam’ required.” That line doubled down on the larger critique of green policy as both costly and ineffective.
Trump wrapped his remarks with a plain spoken promise: under his leadership America is open for business and stronger than before. He paired that optimism with a call to seek out who is driving the radical climate agenda and to investigate ties and motives. The moment stitched together economic cheerleading with a pointed political critique aimed squarely at opponents of U.S. energy independence.
