Mike Pence – when your desire to become the next American president overrides any shred of decency you’ve ever pretended to have.

If the Democrats grew a pair and launched impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, and they succeeded, Pence would be POTUS number 46.

That’s probably part of why he can be both Christian and play second fiddle to a serial womaniser who has just been accused of sexual assault by a 16th woman.

Trump has made it clear that he’s never, ever going to play ball on the climate change front (here, here and here, for three of a million different examples), so of course Pence trots out those same talking points.

Look at this guy go:

Yes, that’s how it works.

During a recent appearance on CNN, though, Jake Tapper wasn’t going to let the nonsense pass by uncontested.

It’s worth watching the entire clip below, but if you must skip ahead, start from the 1:45 mark:

For those who cannot be bothered, this is the exchange below that is really damning. Sorry, Mike, but you’re talking bollocks:

TAPPER: Do you think climate change is a threat?

MIKE PENCE: America has the cleanest air and water in the world

TAPPER: That’s not true

PENCE: Ahh, but we’re making progress on reducing carbon emissions pic.twitter.com/u5hUxFpE6P

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 23, 2019

Should have stuck with Fox News – you know they would never call you out on your bullshit.

If those who are prone to the odd ‘MAGA’ in our comments section need a little help, here are a few points to bear in mind:

There is no real debate in the scientific community as to whether or not a) the climate is warming and b) this warming is well outside of past ups and downs in terms of temperature.

This, from NASA, lays it all out in very clear terms:

“The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with the five warmest years on record taking place since 2010. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year — from January through September, with the exception of June — were the warmest on record for those respective months.”

Ultimately, the ‘why’ of it all is there for everyone to see:

Pence knows that his path forward — in this administration or as a presidential candidate in his own right — is directly tied to Trump. Pleasing Trump. Ensuring that Trump knows he is a good soldier. And, if Pence said that climate change was a threat to the country, Trump would have seen it (or heard about it) and not been happy about it.

So, Pence did what he did. And he’d do it again.

Story of the Republican party these days.

[source:cnn]