Trump on Climate-Hurricane Link: ‘We’Ve Had Bigger Storms’

"The back-to-back landfalls of two harrowing storms in Texas and in Florida have reignited both the scientific debate over the link between hurricanes and global warming and the U.S. political debate over what, if anything, to do to address climate change.

So far, the only Republicans willing to engage in either have been moderates or those representing low-lying coastal districts vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm surges. Members of President Trump’s Cabinet, like Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, have said “it’s insensitive” to discuss the “cause and effect of these storms” in the midst of the dual disasters of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

On Thursday, the president too was dismissive of any link between climate change and hurricanes.

When asked on Air Force One if the two recent storms have changed his view on climate change, Trump told reporters: 'We’ve had bigger storms than this.' He went on to talk about bigger storms that he said occurred in the 1930s and 1940s."

Dino Grandoni reports for the Washington Post September 14, 2017.

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