September 27, 2016

Did Trump Call Global Warming a Chinese Hoax? (Yes. And Tonight He Lied About It.)

“I do not say that.”

According to Donald Trump, Donald Trump never supported the Iraq war; he never called pregnancy an “inconvenience” for employers; and he certainly never—ever—called climate change a Chinese hoax.

Trump, you’ll be shocked to learn, wasn’t exactly telling the truth. Let’s focus on the climate claim, which you can watch in the video above.

During Monday night’s presidential debate, Hillary Clinton said: “Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. I think it’s real. I think science is real.”

“I did not, I did not,” countered Trump. “I do not say that.”

Clinton is correct. Here’s what Trump tweeted in 2012:

Trump has since suggested that this comment was a joke—a hilarious one, no doubt. Regardless, Trump has repeatedly called global warming a “hoax.” On Fox News in 2014, for instance:

And on Twitter:

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

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We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

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