Trump Struggles to Understand Appliances in Bizarre, Rambling Speech

Donald Trump delivered incoherent remarks Tuesday while railing against what he imagined were Joe Biden’s energy and water conservation policies.

In his first address since the results of the 2024 presidential election were certified, Trump responded to the Biden administration’s new standards requiring newly manufactured or imported gas water heaters to waste less heat by using condensing technology.

So what’s the problem with that? Well, Trump couldn’t actually describe it, so he made something up.

“He wants all gas heaters out of your homes and apartments. He wants ’em to be replaced by essentially electric heaters,” Trump said.

Crucially, condensing water heaters use gas, not electricity. But let’s put that aside for a moment. 

According to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, more than 60 percent of gas water heaters are already compliant with the new standard because they use condensing technology. So while Biden’s new rule might make non-condensing water heaters less available, perhaps compelling some to buy electric or heat pump systems, it doesn’t mean that anyone is coming to replace gas water heaters with electric models. 

That didn’t stop Trump from going on an extended rant about it, though, which is included in full because that’s how inane it all is. 

“I don’t know what it is with ‘electric.’ This guy loves ‘electric.’ We’re going to be ending the electric car mandate quickly, by the way,” Trump rambled. “This guy loves electric, and he—we don’t have enough electricity, and then we have AI where we need more. And he wants to get, he wants everybody to have an electric heater instead of a gas heater.

“Gas heater is much less expensive. The heat is much better. It’s a much better heat. Uh, as the expression goes, ‘You don’t itch.’ Does anybody have a heater, where you go and you’re scratching? That’s what they want you to have, they don’t want you to have the gas where you don’t have the problems of the electric,” Trump continued. “And the source is plentiful. They’re much cheaper to operate, they’re much better, they work much better, they look much better.”

Trump on gas heaters compared to electric: "The heat is much better. It's a much better heat. As the expression goes, you don't itch." pic.twitter.com/vPWC7KS48G

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 7, 2025

While condensing models have a higher upfront cost, consumers may save money over the product’s lifetime because it uses its own exhaust gas to help heat the water, wasting less energy. Switching to a condensing heater will also help lower greenhouse gas emissions, something Trump, who is set on ramping up oil and natural gas production, couldn’t care less about. 

“Sixty percent of homes and apartments have gas heaters. He wants them all removed quickly, these people are crazy. There’s something wrong with ’em. There’s something wrong with ’em,” Trump muttered solemnly.

Trump wasn’t done inventing energy polices there. He went on to talk about other appliances that the Biden administration has supposedly tampered with, as well. 

“They also want to go back, and they have already started that too, when you buy a faucet no water comes out, because they want to preserve. Even in areas where you have so much water you don’t know what to do. It’s called rain, it comes down, it comes down from heaven,” Trump said.  

“And they want to do ‘no water comes out of the shower.’ It goes drip … drip … drip. So what happens? You’re in the shower 10 times as long, you know?”

Trump: "It's called rain. It comes down from heaven. And they want to do no water comes out of the shower. It goes drip drip drip ... you can have all the water you want. It makes no difference." pic.twitter.com/Td6eMHYRjs

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 7, 2025

He also claimed that “no water comes out of the faucet,” which is bad for when “you wanna wash your hands.”

“I, as you know, I ended that policy. You can have all the water you want, makes no difference. [inaudible] Especially in some areas, we have so much water, we don’t know what to do with it,” Trump said. 

Faucets were only the tip of the iceberg for the president-elect.

“They want very, very little water to go into your dishwasher. Almost none. And you know what people do? They just keep pressing, pressing, pressing. Keep it going. They end up using more water. Likewise, washing machines.

“We’re a party of common sense, and things that I’m telling you right now are all about common sense,” Trump said. 

Unsurprisingly, a number of water heater manufacturers that produce condensing water heaters that meet the new standards, such as A.O. Smith, Bradford White, and Rheem, supported the new requirements, a Department of Energy spokesperson told Nexstar. Also unsurprisingly, the American Gas Association criticized it, saying that it would lead to a dearth of more affordable non-condensing water heaters. 

Trump’s railing against electric appliances coincides directly with his goals of increasing oil and natural gas production—but is ultimately a bad long-term investment in an increasingly warming world that will use less and less gas every year.