On 60 Minutes Trump Says: 'I'm Not Denying Climate Change'

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By Kert Davies, Climate Investigations Center. Originally posted on Climate Investigations Center.

Climate change is coming at Trump even as he tries like hell to avoid the subject. Record-setting hurricanes, Florence and Michael, have caused devastation across the southeast United States. Meanwhile, the grimย UN IPCC โ€œ1.5ย degreeโ€ reportย pushed climate scientists into the headlines last week while Trump was out and about,ย apparently unleashed, talking toย media.

Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes, got the first big sit down interview and went at climate change right off the bat. Pivoting off Hurricane Michael and the IPCC report, Stahl pressed Trump to answer straight questions about climateย change.

This is the most Trump has been forced to say on the subject of global warming since his Rose Garden celebration announcing that the U.S. would exit the Paris climate agreement, where he managed to barely mention climateย change.

Overall, Trump responds to Stahlโ€™s questions with the typical denier tropes, which he likely learned from Rush Limbaugh,ย Myron Ebell,ย Marc Morano,ย and theย Heartland Institute:

โ€œSomethings changing and itโ€™ll change backย again.โ€

โ€œAnd you donโ€™t know whether or not that would have happened with or without man. You donโ€™tย know.โ€

โ€œWe have scientists that disagree with that [anthropogenic climateย change].โ€

โ€œBut it [climate change] could very well goย back.โ€

โ€œBut I donโ€™t know that itโ€™s [climate change]ย manmade.โ€

โ€œThey say that we had hurricanes that were far worse than what we just had withย Michael.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™d have to show me the scientists because they have a very big political agenda,ย Lesley.โ€

Trump also deployed a empty economic argument against taking action, one commonly used byย deniers:

โ€œI will say this. I donโ€™t wanna give trillions and trillions of dollars. I donโ€™t wanna lose millions and millions of jobs. I donโ€™t wanna be put at aย disadvantage.โ€

Read the full 60 Minutesย interviewย transcript.

Deniers Would Rather Trump Saidย Nothing

Trump said a couple of things the deniers donโ€™t really want him to say,ย including:

โ€œI donโ€™t think itโ€™s a hoaxโ€ and โ€œIโ€™m not denying climateย change.โ€

Joe Bast, former CEO of theย Heartland Institute, and his climate denier kin are happiest when the President doesnโ€™t talk about it at all. A year ago, Bast provided his reason for applauding the Presidentโ€™s silence, quoted and memorialized in the videoย below:

โ€œThe President has done a great job by not talking about global warming. The less the President talks about it, the less often it appears in news stories and on TV, the less often its going to be an issue.ย So, this is how big issuesย disappear.โ€œ

Trump Questioned on Climate by Reporters in Georgia While Touring Hurricaneย Damage

Predictions for Hurricane Michael went fromย a predicted Category 1ย on October 7ย to makingย landfall at just below Category 5 three days later,ย surprising meteorologists and foiling predictive computerย models.

While touring areas damaged by the massive storm in Georgia on Monday, reporters continued to press Trump on climate change and he continued trying to change the subject and inform us thatย heย has โ€œthe cleanest air on theย planet.โ€

Main image:ย President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit Floridaย after Hurricane Michael. Credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead, publicย domain

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