President Donald Trump's recent tweet about "good old global warming" and "the coldest New Year's Eve on record" in the US' eastern coast has infuriated Democratic lawmakers.
Democratic Representative Kathleen Rice of New York berated Trump for his childish style in Twitter, while accusing him of turning a blind eye to all those who were hit by severe frost in the US.
Instead of tweeting like a child who hates science class, if you're so worried about the cold you could always send your 45M+ followers info about how to find shelter, prevent hypothermia & frost bite, prevent pipes from freezing, protect their pets, etc. https://t.co/HXBotuGZ5f
— Kathleen Rice (@RepKathleenRice) 29 декабря 2017 г.
She was echoed by her fellow lawmaker Pramila Jayapal from Washington, who slammed the US leader for his failure to understand the difference between weather and the climate.
In 2017, there were about three record high temperatures in the U.S. for every record low temperature. Weather is not the same as climate. The president should be able to understand that. It isn't hard. https://t.co/piwHcvZWbH https://t.co/7EFkR5SmUN
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) 29 декабря 2017 г.
The same standpoint was shared by Democratic Representative Ted Lieu, one of Trump's most outspoken critics.
He suggested that the US President is deliberately trying to mislead ordinary Americans as far as climate change impact is concerned.
Either @realDonaldTrump doesn't understand the science behind climate change, or he is intentionally misleading the American people. Also, Merry Christmas (even though today is Dec 28) because the President says we can say that again (even though we have always been saying it). https://t.co/8KwaxdbvzB
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) 29 декабря 2017 г.
Virginia Representative Don Beyer, for his part, quipped at Trump's stance on climate change, noting how it relates to the Paris agreement.
1: This isn’t how climate change works.
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) 29 декабря 2017 г.
2: We weren’t paying trillions of dollars. You didn’t understand the Paris Agreement in June and you still don’t.
3: Climate Change is real. It is a serious threat to our children. You need people on your team who can explain this to you. https://t.co/SQG9cMGOGe
Senator Kamala Harris from California called on the local governments to grapple with climate change-related issues due to the Trump administration's reluctance to do so.
Climate change is real and it poses a grave threat to our nation and our planet. It’s abundantly clear this Adminstration won’t tackle climate change head on, so state and local governments must. https://t.co/mrH5zlpyJD
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) 29 декабря 2017 г.
Harris' colleague Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island urged Trump to study a survey on climate change written by his own administration.
This is just embarrassing. It’s clear facts don’t matter to you, but here’s the new climate report from your administration that affirms climate change is caused by human activity, and has serious health, economic, and environmental consequences. Read it. https://t.co/eJo1bdsqd8
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) 29 декабря 2017 г.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, in turn, tweeted about the moral duty of the US to tackle climate change.
I’m going to say something really crazy: I believe in science. Climate change is real and we have a moral obligation to protect this Earth for our children and grandchildren.
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) 29 декабря 2017 г.
Meanwhile, Noam Chomsky, leading American political analyst and philosopher, has blamed Washington for trying to disrupt the current international system for resolving climate change.
The Iranian news agency Press TV cited Chomsky as saying that the US administration is "systematically" undermining governmental institutions, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, for the sake of "profits and power."