- Levine, 66, made the controversial statement while speaking in a video aimed at improving health awareness in black communities during Black History Month.
- Transgender Biden official declared: ‘Climate change is having a disproportionate effect on the physical and mental health of Black communities’
- The video has since gone viral on X, formerly Twitter, as social media users criticized the federal official for making wild claims about climate change.
Undersecretary of Health Rachel Levine has said that climate change “disproportionately affects” the physical and mental well-being of black Americans.
Levine, 66, made the controversial statement while speaking in a video aimed at improving health awareness in black communities during Black History Month.
Biden’s transgender official stated: ‘Climate change is having a disproportionate effect on the physical and mental health of Black communities.’
Levine continued: “Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to live in areas that increase their susceptibility to climate-related health problems.”
The video has since gone viral on X, formerly Twitter, as social media users criticized the federal official for making wild claims about climate change.
Undersecretary of Health Rachel Levine has said that climate change “disproportionately affects” the physical and mental well-being of black Americans.
One user added a soundtrack of laughter to the video, underscoring the resemblance between reality and an old Saturday Night Live sketch.
He wrote: ‘The “leaders” in charge are not serious people, our country is beyond satire. In fact, the rest of the world is laughing at us.”
Another person refuted Levine’s statement, saying: ‘I grew up and worked in predominantly black communities. I’ve NEVER heard a black person express concern about climate change.’
The video had garnered more than 40,000 views as of Friday night, but only racked up 58 likes.
Many expressed disbelief in response to the video, with one person saying: “I wish this was satire.” It’s real,” and another added: “The world is laughing at us.”
One person wrote: ‘This pretty much sums up everything going on in America right now. Good sir.’
Levine is the highest-ranking openly transgender federal official in the country and was named a four-star admiral in the public health service.
She sported her admiral uniform in the collaboration video with the Office of Minority Health for the initiative titled “Advancing Better Health through Better Understanding for Black Communities.”
Levine, who transitioned in 2011, also presented statistics to support his claim that environmental issues have a disproportionate effect on black Americans.
“65 percent of African Americans report feeling anxious about the impact of climate change,” he said.
“We are working with providers and community leaders to identify innovative approaches to empower communities to address the health consequences related to climate change,” Levine added.
Levine has sparked controversy on multiple occasions when he endorsed the possibility of offering gender-affirming care to minors.
Levine is the highest-ranking openly transgender federal official in the country and was named a four-star admiral in the public health service.
In August last year he praised a gender-affirming care clinic in Alaska, saying the treatment it offered was “life-saving medical care.”
The Alaska-based company she praised promotes ideas that children should learn that doctors “assign” gender to babies by making a “guess,” while also promoting the use of “gender-inclusive biology.” .
Teachers and educators must talk to children “without assuming that there are only two sexes and that all members of a given sex are equal.”
Instead of using the word ‘mother’ in these conversations, they recommend using terms like ‘egg producer’ or ‘carrier’.
The transgender undersecretary also said children can go through “the wrong puberty” last year.
“Treatment options for gender-affirming care for transgender youth are really evidence-based,” Levine said.
He had been asked about the possibility of preventing transgender youth from seeking body alteration treatments until at least age 18.
Levine has previously said that so-called gender-affirming child care has the “strongest support” from the Biden administration.