Edward Russo Casts Trump as an Environmental Champion
White House Adviser Praises Trump’s Environmental Record
About a month after the government weakened limits on toxic pollution from coal plants, Edward Russo, the chairman of the White House Environmental Advisory Task Force, told a Washington audience about what he described as one of President Donald Trump’s ambitions.
At a gala this month at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Russo said Trump once told him that he wanted to be “the greatest environmental president since Teddy Roosevelt.” Russo added that, in his view, the president does not receive enough recognition for “protecting land and preserving land,” including conservation work at Trump golf courses.
Russo, 80, is a former consultant on environmental compliance for the Trump Organization’s golf courses. He has long argued that Trump should be seen as an environmental champion, a position he promoted in his 2016 self-published book, *Donald J. Trump: An Environmental Hero.*
A Familiar Argument From Inside the White House
Russo is now making that case from inside the White House, where he chairs the Environmental Advisory Task Force. So far, however, he is the panel’s only member.
Critics say it is unclear what, if anything, Russo has accomplished in the role. The task force has not publicly shared its work, and Russo has largely kept a low profile.
One exception came when he confirmed to Front Office Sports that he is working with Tiger Woods on a redesign of a public golf course in Washington.
Questions About the Task Force’s Work
The article presents Russo as a fringe voice whose claims about Trump’s environmental record run against the broader context of administration actions, including the recent weakening of limits on toxic pollution from coal plants.
Even so, Russo continues to publicly argue that Trump deserves more credit for conservation and land preservation. For now, that message is being delivered by a task force that, at least publicly, consists only of Russo himself.