Amid managing multiple international conflicts, US President Donald Trump has found time to launch a fresh attack on an unlikely foe: wind turbines. The former president took to social media to accuse them of killing America's iconic bald eagles, but a closer look reveals significant factual errors in his claim.
The Social Media Storm Over a Spinning Menace
On the social platform Truth Social, President Trump posted an image of a dead bird lying beneath a large wind turbine. The accompanying caption read: 'Windmills are killing all of our beautiful Bald Eagles!' The post quickly gained traction, amassing over 7,000 'ReTruths' and 19,100 likes. Its reach expanded further when an official White House account shared the image on X, formerly known as Twitter.
However, scrutiny of the photograph tells a different story. The bird in the picture lacks the distinctive white head and tail feathers of the mature American bald eagle. Ornithologists and fact-checkers swiftly identified the animal as a falcon. Furthermore, the turbine itself features Hebrew writing, indicating the scene was not captured in the United States.
A Case of Misidentification and Mistaken Location
The photograph was actually taken in Israel by Hedy Ben Eliahou, an employee of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The image originally appeared in a 2017 report by the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz, with a caption clearly stating: 'A falcon killed by a wind turbine in Israel.' This confirms that the incident involved neither a bald eagle nor American soil.
The report noted that wind turbines in Israel are responsible for the deaths of approximately two dozen birds each year. This statistic had previously raised enough concern to prompt an eagle-breeding programme to campaign against a proposed wind farm in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Symbolic Weight of the Bald Eagle
The bald eagle holds profound symbolic importance in the United States. It was added to the Great Seal of the United States in 1782, but it was not officially designated the national bird until 2024, when President Joe Biden signed it into law. The bird is seen as a symbol of strength, courage, and freedom and is protected under the National Emblem Act of 1940, which prohibits its sale or hunting.
Once at risk of extinction, bald eagle populations have recovered significantly since 2009. Interestingly, the term 'bald' in their name derives from an older meaning of the word, signifying 'white-headed,' rather than a lack of feathers.
This incident is not President Trump's first criticism of wind energy. He has previously made unsubstantiated claims linking turbines to whale deaths and cancer, assertions which have been widely debunked by scientific experts. The latest social media post continues a pattern of controversial statements regarding renewable energy sources.
