Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) responded to President Trump’s claim that noise from windmills can cause cancer by saying that if it were true, “I’d have church bell cancer.”
“I have church bells that ring across from my office here in D.C. I know that noise doesn’t give me cancer, otherwise I’m sure I’d have church bell cancer,” she said, according to a Des Moines NBC affiliate.
{mosads}”I would say it’s ridiculous,” she said of the president’s comment. She added that the state is lucky to have its wind industry.
Her fellow Iowa senator, Chuck Grassley (R), a day prior called the comment “idiotic.”
Trump on Tuesday denounced the alternative fuel source during a National Republican Congressional Committee fundraising dinner. He claimed that noise from wind turbines causes cancer, but did not offer information to support his statement.
“If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer,” he said.
Trump’s remarks have been met with criticism by lawmakers across the ideological spectrum.