Trump's Claim That Wind Turbine Noise Causes Cancer and a Pattern of Anti-Science Public Statements
Tier 3Documented2019-04-02 to 2019-04-02
Factual Summary
On April 2, 2019, during a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump stated that noise from wind turbines causes cancer. His exact words were: "If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer. You tell me that one, okay?"
There is no scientific evidence that noise from wind turbines causes cancer. The American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health, and peer-reviewed medical literature have found no link between wind turbine noise and cancer. The World Health Organization has studied environmental noise and health effects and has not identified wind turbine noise as a carcinogen or cancer risk factor. The White House did not provide any evidence to support the claim when asked by reporters.
The statement was part of a long-running pattern of anti-science public statements by Trump. Other notable examples include:
In November 2018, Trump stated that the catastrophic California wildfires could have been prevented by "raking" forest floors, saying: "You gotta take care of the floors, you know, the floors of the forest. Very important." Forestry experts and the Finnish president, whom Trump cited as a source, both disputed the claim.
Trump repeatedly characterized climate change as a "hoax" or a concept "created by and for the Chinese," a claim he first made on Twitter in 2012 and continued to repeat during his presidency, contradicting the scientific consensus documented by NASA, NOAA, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
In April 2020, during a White House press briefing on COVID-19, Trump suggested that injecting disinfectant or applying "very powerful light" inside the body could treat the virus. He later characterized the remarks as "sarcastic."
The wind turbine cancer claim drew criticism from members of both parties. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a major wind energy state, called the claim "idiotic." Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa said it was "prior ridiculous."
Primary Sources
1. C-SPAN video: Trump's remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner, April 2, 2019
2. White House transcript of Trump's remarks at the NRCC dinner, April 2, 2019
3. Trump Twitter post on climate change, November 6, 2012: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese"
4. White House press briefing video, April 23, 2020, containing Trump's comments about disinfectant injection
Corroborating Sources
1. PolitiFact: "Donald Trump's ridiculous link between cancer, wind turbines," April 8, 2019
2. FactCheck.org: "Trump's Faulty Wind Power Claims," April 2019
3. Washington Post: "Trump claims that wind farms cause cancer for very Trumpian reasons," April 3, 2019
4. CNN: "Windmills and Trump: The President's war on wind technology continues," April 3, 2019
5. The Hill: "Trump claims wind turbine 'noise causes cancer,'" April 3, 2019
Counterarguments and Context
Some studies have documented that people living near wind turbines report annoyance, sleep disturbance, and stress-related symptoms, a set of complaints sometimes called "wind turbine syndrome." However, the scientific consensus, as reviewed by Health Canada, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and multiple peer-reviewed studies, is that these reported effects are not consistent with a physiological response to turbine noise and may be influenced by attitudes toward wind energy and the nocebo effect. No study has established a causal link between turbine noise and cancer. Trump's claim about a 75 percent property value decline near wind farms is also unsupported by the strongest available research; studies by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and others have found small or no effects on property values. Trump's broader anti-wind-energy stance has been consistent since before his presidency and may be connected to a longstanding personal dispute over a wind farm near his golf course in Scotland.
Author's Note
This entry is classified as Tier 3 because the claim is documented on video and in White House transcripts, and its falseness is established by scientific consensus. The entry groups the wind turbine cancer claim with other anti-science statements because they reflect a documented pattern of the president making public claims that contradict established scientific findings. Each individual statement is verifiable against the relevant body of scientific evidence.