During an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan strongly rebuked Bernie Sanders’ claim during Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate that climate change has contributed to the rise of ISIS.
Noonan argued that Sanders’ statement “makes him to many people look slightly daffy like someone who doesn’t understand what the real subject is” because “[t]his is about terrorism. This isn’t about climate change and deserts and people migrating because it’s hot.”
Earlier in the segment, CBS reporter Nancy Cordes, who served as one of the questioners during last night’s Democratic debate, praised Sanders’ “good night” and eagerly touted his stance on income inequality which was “really in his wheelhouse”:
[Y]ou could almost see him chomping at the bit to get past foreign policy and get into the issues where he's the strongest. Talking about single payer, for example. Talking about a $15 minimum wage which was a really striking debate last night between him saying it should be $15 no matter what, Hillary Clinton saying that could have unintended consequences, I'm more comfortable with $12. But you're right, clearly more Democrats came down on his side.
While Cordes was quick to praise Sanders’ performance during last night’s debate, Noonan quickly brought the conversation back to reality and how his views on terrorism were out of step with the world:
[W]orking against him was I believe the fact that last night and more strikingly today on your show, Bernie Sanders essentially said a major problem with all of this ISIS stuff and terrorism and what's going at the west is climate change and global warming which makes him to many people look slightly daffy like someone who doesn't understand what the real subject is.
See relevant transcript below.
CBS’s Face the Nation
November 15, 2015
JOHN DICKERSON: Let me ask you, Nancy, about in our poll of independents and Democrats who were watching Bernie Sanders didn't do well on foreign policy front but on the economic front, Sanders on the question of who can handle the economy, Sanders came out of 43, Clinton at 40. When it comes to income inequality, on that issue, he got 58% and Hillary Clinton got 31. SO on the issues Democrats care about it was good night for him.
NANCY CORDES: It was a good night for him. And I think that the issue of income equality was really in his wheelhouse you could almost see him chomping at the bit to get past foreign policy and get into the issues where he's the strongest. Talking about single payer, for example. Talking about a $15 minimum wage which was a really striking debate last night between him saying it should be $15 no matter what, Hillary Clinton saying that could have unintended consequences, I'm more comfortable with $12. But you're right, clearly more Democrats came down on his side.
PEGGY NOONAN: But, working against him was I believe the fact that last night and more strikingly today on your show, Bernie Sanders essentially said a major problem with all of this ISIS stuff and terrorism and what's going at the west is climate change and global warming which makes him to many people look slightly daffy like someone who doesn't understand what the real subject is, and is leaning outside to sort of leftist, or Progressive nostrims [sic] that he can talk about. This is about terrorism. It isn't about climate change and deserts and people migrating because it's hot.
