Pence mocks Democrats for working on climate as Trump insults NATO allies

Vice President Mike Pence mocked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional Democrats on Tuesday for having the nerve to attend a climate conference. Meanwhile, he praised Donald Trump for being “hard at work for our country” as he spends the NATO conference rage-tweeting and insulting foreign leaders.

Pence, who has refused to acknowledge basic climate science, juxtaposed Trump’s attendance at the NATO 70th anniversary conference in London with Democratic lawmakers attending a United Nations climate summit in Madrid, suggesting that the former was important and the latter not.

“This week, President @realDonaldTrump is hard at work for our country at the NATO70 Summit in London, while Speaker Pelosi and 14 Congressional Democrats are attending a climate conference in Madrid,” he wrote.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) noted that Pence’s comments indicate he “thinks showing global leadership on climate is something to be mocked.”

But while Pelosi delivered a message to the global community that the House of Representatives stands firmly behind the Paris climate accords Trump has begun to formally withdraw from, Trump’s NATO trip has been far less productive.

On Monday, Trump spent much of the day on Twitter, attacking on Michael Bloomberg, complaining about the House impeachment inquiry, mischaracterizing comments by Ukraine’s president to falsely claim they exonerated him, and attempting to meddle with the independent Federal Reserve bank. Trump also attacked the House majority for being “Do Nothing Democrats” and focusing only on impeachment — despite their having passed more than 400 pieces of legislation this year that are awaiting action in Mitch McConnell’s Republican-run Senate. (With his recent comment, Pence becomes the latest Republican to criticize House Democrats for doing too many things.)

On Tuesday, Trump announced that while he could not possibly comment on protesters in Iran, his administration does not stand with the protesters — a statement he completely contradicted an hour later. He accused Democrats of being unpatriotic for holding an impeachment hearing while he was out of the country and publicly complained that French President Emmanuel Macron made “very, very nasty” comments. Trump also praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Monday that urgent action is required to address climate change before it reaches a “point of no return.” Trump has called climate change a “hoax” invented by China.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.