Trump Makes Up The Name of a Federal Agency He Would Axe

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump had a Rick Perry moment during a Fox News town hall Monday night when he vowed to do away with the “Department of Environmental,” an agency that does not exist.

When asked by Fox host Sean Hannity if he would eliminate any federal departments as President, Trump responded “largely, we can eliminate the Department of Education,” a common refrain among conservatives.

But he went on: “Department of Environmental, I mean, the DEP is killing us environmentally, it’s just killing our businesses.”

(h/t Talking Points Memo)

Reality

Let’s put aside for a moment that the DEP does not exist, it’s not even a correct acronym for “Department of Environmental”.

I think what Trump is referring to is the EPA, or the Environmental Protection Agency. When Trump claims that they (the EPA) are “killing us”, he has got that backwards. It is the Environmental Protection Agency who is preventing billionaire business owners, like Donald Trump, from killing us. For example:

Gaffes like this killed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s chances for the nomination in 2012, when he struggled to come up with the EPA as one of the three agencies he would shutter until Mitt Romney stepped in with an assist.

Instances like these help prove how unqualified Donald J. Trump is for the Presidency of the United States of America.

Devil’s Advocate

Maybe Trump is so efficient, he eliminated the department before anyone was able to hear about it?

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