Pompeo's whopper: Team Trump is the most science-friendly in history

[babylonsister]

Pompeo’s whopper: Team Trump is the most science-friendly in history
09/09/19 11:13 AM—Updated 09/09/19 12:06 PM
By Steve Benen


Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke at an event Kansas on Friday, where he fielded a question from a Kansas State University physics professor who asked a very good question.

“As you know, there have been an exodus of scientists across many of the federal agencies. This exodus has been driven largely because the results of their work has been suppressed. Indeed, recently a well-regarded physicist/chemist Dr. Rod Schoonover left the U.S. Department of State due to the suppression of even a security-cleared version of his assessment on the impact of climate change on national security. I add parenthetically that, in my opinion, the Department of State can ill afford the loss of any good scientists.

“My question is: Do you support the suppression of scientific reports from within the U.S. Department of State? If not, how did this happen? And if so, why?”

Pompeo was less impressed with the question than I was.

“Well, it won’t shock you that I disagree with most of what you just said. Of course, no one supports the absence of science. I would argue that this State Department – indeed, this administration – has relied on science far more than the previous administration, and I would argue more than any administration in history. […]

“We turn to scientists and facts-based approaches to every single difficult challenge we face every day.”

I realize the cabinet secretary was able to say all of this with a straight face. That’s part of the problem. The idea that the Trump administration has set a historically high bar, relying on science in ways that exceed every administration in the history of the country, is completely bonkers.

Indeed, the timing of Pompeo’s comments was almost comical: the same day the Kansas Republican praised Team Trump’s handling of science, Trump’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration threw National Weather Service scientists under the bus for daring to tell the public truths the president didn’t like.

more...

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/pompeos-whopper-team-trump-the-most-science-friendly-history?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwAR268CLUiwvBjOQyYl2uaCvGOuNajj47l_lZequB5dzMGzmgEKMQTW7UnK4

[PJMcK]

1. Pompeo is an ass

He's perfect for Trump.

Like Trump, Pompeo is an idiot.

[3catwoman3]

2. Not only are they liars, they...

...are lousy liars. Pompeo’s claim is not even remotely credible.

Pro-science my ass!

[Caliman73]

10. No. They are ACCOMPLISHED liars.

That is the point. Tell such an obvious bold faced lie that you dare people to prove it. When they do. So what? Your supporters have already bought the lie and think that any fact checking is a conspiracy to destroy an obviously brilliant man by obviously jealous people. The average citizen isn't tuning in so they don't hear all of this. The moderately interested people are so overwhelmed by the volume of lies that they may be glazed over, and the rest of us, though wanting to call them out, know that there may be little consequence.

Trump and his people lie big, lie bold, and lie often, on purpose. They aren't bad at lying. They know what they need to do to keep opponents on the back foot.

Hopefully enough people will wake up and realize that not one person in the Trump administration is worth a damn and we will get rid of the lot of them, plus the GOP in 2020.

[COLGATE4]

3. Pompeo is one of the really dangerous ones

Bright, extremely well-educated but a Fundie Dominionist who believes that we should hurry the Rapture and sees Trump as the ideally idiotic vessel to carry out that charge to Armageddon.

[JDC]

4. More Orwellian bullshit.

[spanone]

5. just when you think you've seen the worse scum of this administration, you remember pompous pompeo

[ego_nation]

6. "... in history" is always their tell.

It’s like punctuation for flaming liars.

[SWBTATTReg]

7. Liars. All liars. Voters don't like people who lie. Period.

[smirkymonkey]

8. How do they just lie like that?

It's so blatant. There isn't even a grain of truth in that statement. It is just patently false. It's not a matter of opinion. They make me absolutely sick!

[sakabatou]

9. You mean he lied?!

I'm shocked! Shocked that there's gambling in this institution!