The tidal wave of climate disinformation and denial often appears overpowering.

In Australia One Nation, the Liberal Party and the National Party are all deeply committed to climate denial.

These Australian denialists are increasingly taking their policies from Donald Trump and Republicans. So far in the US the Trump administration has trashed climate programs and research while sacking scientists.

Yet the US public is well out of step with the Trumpian political leaders.

The regular George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication has just released a new report – Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics and Policy (Spring 2026).

It finds that in the run up to the 2026 midterms 58% of registered voters prefer to vote for a candidate for public office who supports action on global warming, while only 14% prefer to vote for a candidate who opposes action.

The figures are not overwhelmingly in favour of action but there are a majorities in all climate related political preferences.

For instance, 42% want to hear from political candidates more often about ways to reduce global warming while only 23% would like to hear less. 31% say they will only support a candidate who supports increasing the use of renewable energy while only 7% would vote for a candidate who wanted to decrease its use while only 14% would vote for a candidate who supports increasing the use of fossil fuels.

The report also found that most registered voters prefer to vote for a candidate who supports action ion global warming.

58% of all registered voters take that position with 28% saying it doesn’t matter either way.

Unsurprisingly 92% of Liberal Democrats support action on global warming and 83% Moderate Democrats support action.

Liberal Moderate Republicans are 40% in favour of voting for a candidate who supports climate action and even among Conservative Republicans there is some support for candidates who would vote for action on global warming.

Only 40% of moderate Republican voters and 18% of Conservative Republicans oppose candidates who support action on global warming.

Republicans are more likely to make no response to the surveys. This is not a rebirth of the Know Nothing Party but probably indicating more passive opposition.

Doanld Trump is already in trouble on cost of living issues and the GMU data shows that 67% of voters think global warming is causing the cost of living in the US to increase.

The Musk-Trump campaign to kill off climate change policies and agencies is also very unpopular.

77% oppose ordering all federal agencies (such as NASA, NOAA and the EPA ) to stop doing research on global warming while 77% oppose ordering all federal agencies to stop providing information about global warming to the public.

Registered voters say global warming is increasing the cost of their own cost of living in utility bills (66%), groceries (61%), car and truck and ownership and operations (56%), home insurance (51%), and health care (35%.).

The backlash is also inspiring local action on global warming. 89% of Americans support state laws which would allow residents to install small plug in solar panels which directly generate electricity for their homes; 65% want electric utilities in their states to produce 100% of their electricity from clean, renewable sources by 2060; 63% support higher fuel efficiency standards for new cars and trucks; and 51% support their city, town, county government to declare a global warming local emergency.

51% support their governor declaring a global warming statewide emergency.

The US – despite the Trump tantrums – installed 43GW of new solar capacity in 2025 according to the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie.

Solar and energy storage together accounted for 79% of newly installed capacity during the first year of the Trump administration, as detailed in the US Solar Market Insight 2025 Year in Review report.

It may surprise many, but Texas led with 11GW of new installations. The report also forecasts that US solar capacity could reach nearly 770GW by 2036, driven by an additional 490GW of new installations.

Trump imagines that his Presidential power can will away these developments. Yet his problem is that solar and wind are cheaper than the alternatives – as is being provided in Australia despite the bleatings of One Nation and Tony Abbott.

It should also be remembered that Australian – and US – climate denial is not based on any scientific evidence. It is, instead, a statement about identity and belief.

Helped along of course, by billions of dollars of funding by the oil and gas industries; their front organisations; denialists; ‘think’ tanks, and their supporters in the media