President Donald Trump entered the White House last Friday, with a years-long trail of questionable statements about climate change behind him and a fondness for Twitter. On Monday, the new administration froze grants and contracts at the Environmental Protection Agency. On Tuesday, the president took steps to advance construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.
Then something curious happened.
Badlands National Park’s Twitter account sent a series of tweets about climate change on Tuesday afternoon. The tweets have since been deleted, but screenshots last forever.
Many people responded to the tweets, most offering moral support, corroborating facts, and even offering to help the person sending the messages find a new job in case he or she is fired.
The tweets were deleted from the @BadlandNPS account shortly before 5:30 p.m. Multiple phone calls to Badlands National Park went unanswered, and @BadlandsNPS hasn’t responded to an interview request made via Twitter.
The impetus for the tweets remains a scientific unknown.