Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy slammed Democrats Monday on Fox News for portraying Cross-Country Skiing Olympian Gus Schumacher as a climate expert.
Kennedy appeared on “Hannity” to discuss his recent hearing on climate change, where Schumacher testified on “The Nature of Climate Costs” as the issue has allegedly been impacting winter sports. Fox host Sean Hannity questioned the Louisiana senator on if Democrats attempted to make Schumacher appear as an “expert” during the hearing. (RELATED: John Kennedy Grills Olympic Skier On Past Posts Pushing To ‘Abolish The Police’ At Climate Hearing)
“Yes. Mr. Schumacher, I understand, is a superb skier, Sean. And I’m sure he’s a fine young man, but the fact remains that my Democratic colleagues invited Mr. Schumacher to testify before the Budget Committee of the United States Senate as an expert on climate change to advise us on climate change legislation. And Mr. Schumacher could neither defend nor substantiate his rhetoric. I suppose his testimony is an example of the Kardashian-ing of America,” Kennedy stated.
“I don’t mean to be cruel, but Mr. Schumacher’s testimony reminded me so much of, how can I put this, the gormless pop singers and movie stars who partied with Harvey Weinstein who incessantly lecture the American people. Who also have to lie down if they think too hard. And I’m sorry Mr. Schumacher had a difficult day, but you shouldn’t hold yourself out as an expert or have an opinion if you can’t defend it.”
A video clip of Kennedy pressing Schumacher during his testimony last week went viral as Kennedy dug up some of the skier’s old social media posts regarding Black Lives Matter and abolishing the police. During the hearing, Schumacher claimed that climate change has “dramatically altered the conditions for winter sports allegedly jeopardizing “the economic viability of communities reliant on winter tourism” due to the “unpredictability” effects.