The sun rises behind the U.S. Capitol as smoke from wildfires in Canada fills the air on July 17, 2026. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
If you, like me, felt angry, sad, and helplessas explosive Canadian wildfires blanketed parts of the United States in smoke this past weekend, it may be heartening to know that most Americans accept the reality of what’s going on.
Polling released Saturday by Data for Progress shows that 64 percent of U.S. voters—nearly two thirds—understand that wildfires are being worsened by climate change. The survey of 1,164 voters across the political spectrum showed that only 27 percent don’t think climate change is exacerbating wildfires, and 9 percent don’t know. Interestingly, Republican voters were split down the middle: 45 percent recognized the climate-wildfire connection, while 45 percent rejected it.
Results from a Data for Progress survey of 1,164 U.S. likely voters nationally, weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and recalled presidential vote. The margin of error associated with the sample size is ±3 percentage points. Source: Data for Progress
But here’s something revealing: While Republicans in the real world are split on the climate-wildfire connection, Republicans in Congress are not. In fact, every GOP lawmaker who’s spoken up about last week’s air quality crisis has squarely blamed the wildfires’ intensity on poor Canadian forest management, and left out the climate component entirely.
Gosh. I wonder why that might be?
What, perchance, could be occurring??
Some might explain it as simply another example of following Trump, who has been doing the same thing very loudly over the last couple of days. And sure, I’m willing to say that fawning their unstable validation-obsessed climate-denier president is probably part of the equation.
But I also believe that, no matter the president, Republicans in Congress would still be ignoring the climate aspect of these wildfires, and directing blame literally anywhere else. And that’s for one simple reason: They are completely bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry.
To show you what I mean, let’s take a look at some of the lawmakers who’ve been loudest about blaming Canada for the wildfires over the last week.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) introduced legislation Friday to sanction Canada for failing to contain the wildfires, blaming only insufficient forest management. Moreno has received$445,823 in direct campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry since his election in 2024. He was the sixth-largest Senate recipient of oil and gas funding in the 2024 cycle.
Rep. John James (R-MI) on Wednesday led a group of Michigan Republicans in sending a strongly worded letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, blaming the country for failing to “manage its forests.” James has received$692,343 in direct campaign donations from the oil and gas industry since his election in 2022. In the 2024 election cycle, he was among the top 5 percent of House recipients of oil and gas money, ranking 20th out of 435 members.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX)released a statement Monday accusing Canada of allowing its forests to “burn out of control,” and urging lawmakers to pass the FENCES Act—
