President Trump says 'we have bigger problems than plastic straws'

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President Trump says 'we have bigger problems than plastic straws'

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump takes a drink of water as he speaks about his administration's National Security Strategy at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC, December 18, 2017. President Donald Trump rolled out his first

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump.

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  • President Donald Trump dismissed the notion that plastic straws are a threat, which environmentalists and liberal activists have claimed are a major factor in ocean pollution.
  • Trump's 2020 reelection campaign has also began selling Trump-branded plastic straws, which sold out in just one day.
  • Several US cities and a number of high profile businesses are transitioning away from plastic straws and other products as a form of environmental activism.
  • Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump weighed in on the hotly contested debate over plastic straws being replaced with paper ones through local ordinances or changes in business practices.

Trump dismissed the idea that plastic straws are an environmental problem, just hours after his 2020 reelection campaign began selling packs of Trump-branded straws for supporters to purchase.

Read more: Trump's campaign takes a swipe at 'liberal paper straws' and sells Trump straws for $15

"I do think we have bigger problems than plastic straws," Trump told reporters before boarding Marine One on Friday.

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"It's interesting about plastic straws. You have a little straw," Trump added. "What about the plates, the wrappers and everything else that are much bigger and they're made of the same material? So the straws are interesting. Everybody focuses on the straws. There is a lot of other things to focus on."

Several cities across the United States have undertaken efforts to curb the use of plastic straws while high profile businesses, including McDonald's and Starbucks have announced they would be replacing them with paper products as an expression of environmental consciousness.

California went as far as to ban plastic straws in restaurants unless customers specifically ask for them.

Multiple studies have linked straws to the growing amount plastic in the ocean, citing the statistic that six million are removed from beaches and bodies of water each year.

But it appears Trump is not as interested in the straws as a pressing issue.

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