Over the weekend, CNN hosts have continued to fret over President Donald Trump taking a jab at global warming in a tweet about the record cold temperatures in the Eastern U.S. On Sunday's State of the Union, CNN anchor Dana Bash wondered if it was "appropriate" for President Trump to make such a joke about an issue that "scientists believe is harming the country and the world" as she spoke with former White House advisor Anthony Scaramucci.
And on Saturday's CNN Newsroom, host Ana Cabrera brought up the tweet with right-leaning CNN commentator Scott Jennings and alluded to polling suggesting young Americans are alienated from Republicans because of the global warming issue.
At 4:43 p.m. on Saturday, Cabrera brought up Trump's tweet and read from it:
"In the East," he writes, "it could be the coldest New Year's Eve. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old global warming that our country, but not other countries, was going to pay trillions of dollars to protect against. Bundle up!"
The CNN host then added: "So obviously he's complaining about weather, not climate change, Scott, but some Republican pollsters have said that his attitude towards climate change is helping to drive younger voters away from the Republican party."
After Jennings suggested the President was just trying to goad the media into responding to him, Cabrera followed up:
But, Scott, I got to push back that he was just trying to get a rise because -- I don't mean to interrupt you and sorry for stomping on you -- but when you say he was just trying to get a rise, this is a President who has called climate change a "hoax" that was perpetrated by the Chinese previously.
So this seems to be a repetitive, I guess, way that he goes before he was President and since he has been President, plus some of the policies that have been implemented by, like, the EPA and his administrator there have only enforced that this really is his position.
On Sunday at 9:11 a.m. ET, as Bash substitute-hosted State of the Union, she turned to guest Scaramucci, read the same tweet, and then worried: "Is it appropriate for the President to joke about something that scientists believe is harming the country and the world, no matter if it's manmade or natural?"
After Scaramucci vaguely suggested that Trump might just be joking and might not be a "climate change denier," Bash followed up by referring to the more liberal interpretation of global warming theory: "Meaning -- that you think he believes that climate change is real and man-made?"
Below are transcripts of relevant portions of the Saturday, December 30, CNN Newsroom, and the Sunday, December 31, State of the Union:
From CNN Newsroom with Ana Cabrera:
4:43 p.m. ET
ANA CABRERA: I want to pivot to other political news. Let's talk about the President's tweet this past week about the Arctic chill on the East Coast. I saw your tweet, Scott, earlier about how cold it is there in Kentucky.
"In the East," he writes, "it could be the coldest New Year's Eve. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old global warming that our country, but not other countries, was going to pay trillions of dollars to protect against. Bundle up!"
So obviously he's complaining about weather, not climate change, Scott, but some Republican pollsters have said that his attitude towards climate change is helping to drive younger voters away from the Republican party.
[SCOTT JENNINGS]
But, Scott, I got to push back that he was just trying to get a rise because -- I don't mean to interrupt you and sorry for stomping on you -- but when you say he was just trying to get a rise, this is a President who has called climate change a "hoax" that was perpetrated by the Chinese previously, so this seems to be a repetitive, I guess, way that he goes before he was President and since he has been President, plus some of the policies that have been implemented by, like, the EPA and his administrator there have only enforced that this really is his position.
(...)
From State of the Union:
9:13 a.m. ET
DANA BASH: Anthony, I want to ask you about something the President tweeted this past week -- let's take a look. He said,"In the East, it could be the coolest New Year's Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old global warming that our country, but not other countries, was going to pay trillions of dollars to protect against. Bundle up!"
BASH: Is it appropriate for the President to joke about something that scientists believe is harming the country and the world, no matter if it's manmade or natural?
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I will -- first off, you can tell that that was the President tweeting himself. Are you right, Dana?
BASH: You know far better than I, but if I -- it certainly seems that way, but I'm glad you're confirming that.
SCARAMUCCI: I'm going to give a shout out to my friend, Dan Scavino, you know, I know the difference when Dan is tweeting and when President Trump is tweeting, so that was clearly the President. So, listen, I love the President's sense of humor, but I also think he's saying something else, and I think you guys should ask him directly if he's a climate change denier or not. I think you'll find -- you'll be surprised by that answer, but --
BASH: Meaning -- meaning -- meaning that you think he believes that climate change is real and manmade?
