President Donald Trump shared another image on Friday showing a dead bird beneath wind turbines, incorrectly identifying it as an eagle.
The photo, posted on Truth Social with the caption “Eagles going down!”, actually depicts a red kite photographed in Spain—not a bald eagle, and not in the United States.
Why It Matters
Trump has repeatedly argued that wind turbines pose a serious threat to birds, especially bald eagles, and has used this claim to criticize wind energy and push for restrictions on wind farms. These assertions have been challenged numerous times by fact-checkers, who say the data does not support his claims.
What to Know
Friday’s post was one of three Trump shared on the topic. One image showed a group of birds flying near a turbine, accompanied by the caption “killing birds by the millions!” Another linked to a Fox News article from November discussing eagles being struck by turbines.
The red kite image Trump shared has circulated online for years. It has appeared in multiple reports and blog posts, including a 2023 article by Wyoming’s Cowboy State Daily examining proposed federal rule changes related to eagle protections, and a 2011 piece by The Telegraph exploring why birds sometimes collide with wind turbines.
The post followed criticism earlier in the week, after Trump shared a different image of a dead bird in front of a windmill with the message: “Windmills are killing all of our beautiful Bald Eagles!” That bird was also misidentified and was later traced to a photo taken in Israel in 2017, not in the U.S. Despite this, the image was reposted by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Rapid Response 47 account on X.
The Trump administration has said it is pursuing major changes to U.S. energy policy, including shifting away from wind and solar power and placing greater emphasis on coal, which Trump has described as “good clean energy.”
Critics argue that Trump’s repeated focus on wind turbines and his exaggerated claims about their impact on wildlife raise concerns about his judgment, though the president has rejected any suggestion that his cognitive health is in question.
What People Are Saying
In an earlier Truth Social post on Friday, Trump wrote:
“The White House Doctors have just reported that I am in ‘PERFECT HEALTH,’ and that I ‘ACED’ (Meaning, was correct on 100% of the questions asked!), for the third straight time, my Cognitive Examination, something which no other President, or previous Vice President, was willing to take.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office responded on X to Trump’s earlier post with a sarcastic reference: “Person, woman, man, camera, eagle.”
Elie Bou-Zeid, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University, previously told Newsweek that wind turbines kill far fewer birds in the U.S. than other causes such as domestic cats or building collisions. He added that concerns about turbines are often overstated when compared with broader environmental threats.
What Happens Next
The future of wind energy development in the United States remains uncertain. Efforts by the Trump administration to halt new wind farm construction have already been blocked by a federal judge, but the president is expected to continue arguing that wind turbines pose a serious danger to wildlife.
