February 10, 2019

Donald Trump Still Doesn’t Understand Climate Change Science

The president sent a tweet on Sunday that shows his ignorance.

Olivier Douliery/AP

I regret to you inform you that the president of the United States still does not understand climate change or the science behind our warming planet.

On Sunday at a rally in Minneapolis, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) announced she’s running for president. In her speech, Klobuchar said that as president she would take steps to mitigate climate change. It was snowing heavily while she spoke, a fact that President Donald Trump, despite all of the scientific evidence, still seems to think disproves that global warming is happening.

Time and time again, scientists have explained that just because it’s cold or snowing outside doesn’t mean that climate change is some kind of hoax. During the polar vortex that gripped much of the country in January, Trump fired off a similar tweet about how global warming needed to “come back fast.” A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson denied it was a response to the president, but shortly after Trump’s comments, the agency tweeted a very simplistic cartoon that explains why many Americans experienced record-breaking cold despite the fact that the planet is getting hotter.

That didn’t deter Trump from tweeting climate denier rhetoric. But he may want to rethink his strategy: More and more Republicans are realizing that the scientists are right—global warming is happening. 

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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