Vice President Kamala Harris asked NASA if it could use its satellites to track trees “by race” in various neighborhoods as part of “environmental justice” during a recent display on climate change, leading many to ridicule the vice president online and even giving rise to a “Black Trees Matter” hashtag.
Harris, who serves as chair of the National Space Council, visited Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Friday “to see vital climate science work.”
As she met with scientists and engineers and received a firsthand look at how the climate is studied by the space program as well as how it provides data concerning planetary changes and their impacts, the vice president declared, “I truly believe space activity is climate action.”
In a clip originally shared by Deputy Director of Rapid Response at Republican National Committee (RNC) Jake Schneider, Harris is seen interrupting a presentation in order to share her “woke” inquiry.
“Can you measure trees — part of that data that you are referring to, [and it’s an issue of] EJ, environmental justice — that you can also track by race their averages in terms of the number of trees in the neighborhoods where people live?”
In response to the now viral clip, which has over one million views as of Sunday afternoon, many took to Twitter to mock Harris.
“This woman is a complete hack – and if this is not an act, she is also a moron…,” wrote retired senior intelligence operations officer Tony Shaffer.
“I can’t get over the fact that ‘environmental justice’ and ‘tree equity’ are real phrases Democrats use,” wrote GOP strategist Matt Whitlock. “Reads like parody.”
“I thought this was a Babylon Bee headline, turns out it’s our totally serious Vice President,” wrote Republican congressional candidate Leon Benjamin.
“Glad she has her priorities straight,” he added.
“This clip illustrates perfectly the worth of diversity,” wrote Darren Beattie, a former Trump speechwriter.
“For the confused, the CRT argument here is that urban centers have less trees and are warmer than less urban areas, which the left translates into privilege,” wrote conservative writer and commentator Chad Greene.
“White people have the ‘privilege’ of more trees, cooler temps and cleaner air,” he added. “Wala. Environmental Justice.”
“Too many White (Supremacist) Pines, not enough gender neutral Black Walnuts!” wrote a Twitter user, adding the creative hashtag: “#BlackTreesMatter.”
“Are we now headed towards #BlackTreesMatter?” asked another Twitter user.
“Officer Harris is just trying to figure out whether trees are racist or not,” wrote yet another.
“Yes, the world’s most inauthentic, unnatural politician Kamala Harris made news yesterday by pressing NASA on its ability to sort trees by race as part of an ‘environmental justice’ push,” another wrote.
“So the [vice] president Kamala Harris with NASA yesterday, able to ask any question about our universe, she asks if they are able to ‘track trees’ by race as part of ‘environmental justice,’” wrote one Twitter user.
“She’s going to keep dividing, nothing will stop them from creating a new, segregated society,” yet another wrote.
“Waking up to Kamala Harris statements on tree race & environmental Justice,” wrote another. “We’re doomed,”
“It looks like black communities will receive reparations in the form of trees,” another wrote.
“So Kamala Harris with NASA today, asks if they are able to ‘track trees’ by ‘race’ as part of ‘environmental justice,’” wrote yet another. “This is VP of USA, ladies and gentlemen.”
“The world laughingstock continues,” a Twitter user wrote.
“Breaking News: Kamala Harris realizes that Trees are inherently racist,” wrote another Twitter user.
“So people no longer have biological genders but trees, a plant, have races?” asked another. “If I didn’t know Harris is ok with PC on steroids I’d give her some slack & say she meant species.”
“When Trump tried to explain a real experimental UV disinfectant light therapy, the press turned that into him ‘telling people to drink bleach’ and ‘inject Lysol,’” wrote yet another Twitter user.
“Kamala Harris asking NASA to ‘track the number of trees by race’ is just good hard science,” a Twitter user mocked.
“This is what they mean by ‘TRUST THE SCIENCE,’” quipped another.
“Everything has to be about race with Harris…. Even the trees,” wrote another Twitter user
The incident comes as Democrats’ $1.75 trillion entitlement spending bill includes billions for left-wing environmental activists’ pet projects, including planting more trees in low-income neighborhoods to create “tree equity.”
The tree equity provision is just one of a plethora of climate-related spending provisions in the bill.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein
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