David Gregory Frets: Trump Not Persuaded by Prince Charles or Al Gore on Carbon Tax

June 5th, 2019 11:09 AM

Gee, why wouldn't President Trump listen to Prince Charles or Al Gore when it comes to slapping taxes on carbon? I mean, it would only cost untold trillions globally, hobble economies, hurt the poorest countries and people most . . . and do little if anything to affect "climate change."

On CNN this morning, Alisyn Camerota, commenting on a protracted sit-down yesterday between Trump and Prince Charles, put it to David Gregory that "the President doesn't seem to have been moved much by Prince Charles' passionate entreaty." 

Imagine having to listen to Prince Charles bloviate ad nauseam about climate change. Any chance of swapping that for something less painful, say a root canal without anesthesia? The British heir apparent has a bachelor's degree in history, but he's not a scientist. But when you're on the "right side" of history, you're an automatic expert.

 

 

ALISYN CAMEROTA: David Gregory, he also sat down with Piers Morgan for an interview. There are couple of headlines from it, but the most important one is about climate change. The President is continuing to express skepticism and not understanding, I guess, the difference between weather and climate. So here are those comments.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: He [Prince Charles] wants to make sure future generations have climate that is good climate as opposed to a disaster. And I agree. I did mention a couple of things. I did say, well, the United States right now has among the cleanest climates there are, based an all statistics.

PIERS MORGAN: Do you personally believe in climate change?

TRUMP: I believe there's a change in weather. And I think it changes both ways. Don't forget: it used to be called global warming. That wasn’t working. Then it was called climate change. Now it’s actually called extreme weather.

CAMEROTA: So, David, your thoughts on how the President doesn’t seem to have been moved much by Prince Charles’s passionate entreaty.

DAVID GREGORY: Right. They apparently met for much longer than they were scheduled to so the President could listen to Prince Charles on the issue of climate change. Look, the President just continues, he has now for years, whether it was Al Gore, or his children, or others who were pleading the case for what he can do as President of the United States to advance this, and not set back effective responses to climate change.

He continues to be dug in, to disregard and ignore what is scientific consensus around what major countries like the United States should be doing in a leadership role to be combat climate change around the globe. The globe is not going to stand by and do nothing around the world. But without the United States, it beomes very difficult. So I think we're in a complete standstill here. The President doesn’t appear to be showing much movement, despite consensus not only in the scientific community but among corporate leaders that there has to be a price on carbon. He’s standing in the way. Don't see much change there.