Vice President Mike Pence appeared on State of the Union Sunday, where host Jake Tapper obsessed over climate change. Channeling his inner Al Gore, Tapper repeatedly used the alarmist and emotionally charged phrase “climate emergency” as he attempted to expose the Vice President as what Joy Behar would call a “climate change denier” multiple times.
Tapper quoted from a threat assessment put out by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, which was dire enough to please the left-wing Union of Concerned Scientists. Tapper said a “climate emergency” is “likely to fuel competition for resources, economic distress, and social discontent.” Tapper described the “climate emergency” as a “priority for the DNI Coats” before complaining that the EPA “rolled back part of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, letting states set their own limits for coal...power.” Tapper then asked the Vice President “do you think human-induced climate emergency is a threat to the United States?”
As Vice President Pence attempted to explain the problems with the Clean Power Plan, specifically its impact on the utility rates of families across the country, Tapper asked again “but is it a threat?” After the Vice President explained “we’re seeing a reduction in carbon emissions all across this country,” Tapper asked again “but is what people are calling a climate emergency? Is it a threat? Do you think it’s a threat? Man-made climate emergency? Is it a threat?”
They never describe the result as dramatic government intervention. Maybe by climate emergency, Tapper means a “UN global bureaucracy that wants a one-world Greenpeace state” and/or justifies the massive transformation of the United States economy in the form of the Green New Deal.
When Pence told Tapper “the answer to that is going to be based upon the science,” Tapper responded: “the science says yes. I’m asking you what you think.” Tapper was obviously hoping to catch Pence in a gotcha moment by getting him to say no but the Vice President did not fall into that trap. Pence attempted to tell Tapper that “many in the science community” did not agree with that analysis but Tapper cut him off: “the science community in your own administration, at NOAA, at the DNI, they all say it’s a threat...but you won’t for some reason.”
After Tapper asked Pence if he thought the “climate emergency” was a threat three more times, Pence told Tapper: “I think we’re making great progress reducing carbon emissions.” According to Pence, “we’re making progress on reducing carbon emissions. We’re doing it through technology, through natural gas, through continuing to support, as our administration is” going “back to nuclear energy.” But for Tapper, none of this progress was good enough because the administration “just rolled back all these…clean coal…”
As the discussion on climate change came to a close, Vice President Pence informed Tapper that “the answer, though, is not to raise the utility rates…of millions of utility rate payers across the country.” By this point, it looked like Tapper had finally given up on asking the Vice President if he saw the “climate emergency” as a threat; likely disappointed that he refused to answer his questions in the negative.
A transcript of the relevant portion of Sunday’s edition of State of the Union is below. Click “expand” to read more.
State of the Union
06/23/19
09:20 AM
JAKE TAPPER: I want to ask you a question about climate change. The Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, said in a January report on worldwide threats that the climate emergency is “likely to fuel compens…competition for resources, economic distress and social disconsent, content.” It is a priority for the DNI, Coats. The EPA this week, however, rolled back part of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, letting states…set their own limits for coal plower, power plants emissions. Do you think human-induced climate emergency is a threat to the United States?
VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, what…what I will tell you is that we’ll always follow the science on that in this administration.
TAPPER: The science says…
PENCE: But what…but what…
TAPPER: …it is.
PENCE: …we…but what we won’t do…and the Clean Power Plan was all about that…was hamstringing energy in this country, raising the costs of utility rates for working families across this country...
TAPPER: But is it a threat?
PENCE: ...while other nations like China and India do absolutely nothing or make illusory promises decades down the road to deal with it. You know, the truth of the matter is, with the advent of…
TAPPER: Yeah.
PENCE: ...natural gas, with the natural gas explosion that’s developing, with clean coal technology, we’re seeing…we’re seeing a significant reduction…
TAPPER: But is…
PENCE: …in carbon emissions all across this country.
TAPPER: But is what people are calling a climate emergency, is it a threat? Do you think it’s a threat, manmade climate emergency is a threat?
PENCE: I think the answer to that is going to be based upon the science.
TAPPER: Well, the science says yes. I’m asking you what…
PENCE: Well...
TAPPER: …you think.
PENCE: …There’s many in the science that...
TAPPER: The science community in your own administration, at NOAA...
PENCE: I got it.
TAPPER: ... at the, at the DNI, they all say it’s a threat.
PENCE: I got it. Look, what the President...
TAPPER: But you won’t, for some reason.
PENCE: ... has said, what we have said is that we are not going to raise utility rates. Remember what President Obama said?
TAPPER: But it’s not a threat?
PENCE: He said…he said…he had his, his climate change plan. He said it’s necessarily going to cause utility rates to skyrocket, and that would force us into these green technologies. Now you got Democrats all running for President that are running on a Green New Deal that would break…
TAPPER: Okay.
PENCE: …this economy.
TAPPER: So you don’t think it is a threat, is all I’m saying? You don’t think it is a threat?
PENCE: I think we’re making great progress reducing carbon emissions, America has the cleanest air and water in the world. We’ll continue to use market forces...
TAPPER: That’s not true. We don’t have the cleanest air and water in the world. We don’t.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
PENCE: Okay.
TAPPER: You get back to me with some statistics that show it.
PENCE: But we’re making…we’re making progress on reducing carbon emissions. We’re doing it through technology, through natural gas, through continuing to support, as our administration is...
TAPPER: You just rolled back all these clean…these clean coal...
PENCE: Turn back to nuclear energy, clean energy. The answer, though, is not to raise the utility rates…
TAPPER: Okay.
PENCE: …of millions of utility rate payers across the country.
