Anderson Cooper Discloses Rick Santorum Is ‘Paid Co-Chair’ of Biofuels Group — Before Heated Clash on Climate
After CNN contributor Rick Santorum claimed scientists report on man-made climate change to make money, CNN host Anderson Cooper introduced the former Republican senator as being a “paid co-chair of a bio-fuels advocacy group, Americans for Energy Security and Innovation.”
While discussing President Donald Trump’s latest rejection of man-made climate change theories, Santorum defended the president by suggesting the president thinks America is doing a good job “reducing air emissions and cleaning up things.”
“The places that are really bad, India, China, and all these places, these don’t apply to them, they are not doing anything on that front,” he added. “Have them clean up their act instead of trying to impose incredible restrictions on an economy that is pretty energy efficient and a very clean economy. I think that is the point he is trying to make and it is a very legitimate point.”
Santorum went on to claim that “all the predictions have been wrong” from climate scientists, “all of them.”
One guest pushed back by saying that people living in some regions, like in California, Florida, and parts of the Middle East, are already experiencing the negative impact from climate change.
“The California wild fires are because of climate change, the California wildfires is because they didn’t clean the floor of the forest,” the conservative pundit responded. “They didn’t manage the forest.”
When pressed on what “the motivation” would be for scientists to lie, the ex-lawmaker went back to claiming they are in it for the money.
“The comment I made about scientists making money — there would be no chair of the head of climate studies at every university in America if we didn’t have a crisis,” Santorum alleged, to the shock of Cooper’s panel. “These people make money because there is a crisis.”
“I don’t think climate science is a big high money area,” responded one guest.
“Your critics will say you are also making money off of this,” added Cooper.
Santorum acknowledged he is “involved in promoting ethanol,” but noted he is also “involved with a waste energy company that tries to do something productive with our waste instead of sticking it in a landfall.”
“I don’t want climate disaster, but putting government regulation over industry is not going to solve the problem,” he concluded.
As for Trump’s comments, he told the Washington Post today that “one of the problems that a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence but we’re not necessarily such believers.”
“As to whether or not it’s man-made and whether or not the effects that you’re talking about are there, I don’t see it — not nearly like it is,” he added.
Watch above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]
