Sen. Ron Johnson mouths to GOP group that climate change is 'bullsh--' just weeks before deadly heat wave

• Ron Johnson mouthed to a GOP luncheon that climate change is "bullsh--," CNN reported.
• His comments came weeks before a fatal heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that scientists attributed to climate change.
• Johnson has a long record of rejecting facts or making comments at odds with science on climate change.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called climate change "bullsh--" during a GOP luncheon in early June, just weeks before a heat wave claimed dozens of lives in the Pacific Northwest. Scientists have linked the historic high temperatures to climate change.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think climate change is - as Lord Monckton said - bullsh--," Johnson said during the Republican Women of Greater Wisconsin Luncheon at Alioto's in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, in comments caught on video and first reported by CNN. "By the way, it is."

Johnson - who referred to Lord Christopher Monckton, a climate skeptic who has held positions in the British government and press - did not actually say "bullsh--" out loud, but mouthed the word.

The Wisconsin senator defended himself in comments to CNN, rejecting the notion that he's a climate change denier.

"My statements are consistent. I am not a climate change denier, but I also am not a climate change alarmist. Climate is not static. It has always changed and always will change," Johnson said.

The world's top scientists say that climate change is real and caused by human activities. In short, Johnson's comments are not backed up by science.

Johnson further defended himself on Twitter, writing, "I do not share Rep. Ocasio-Cortez view that the 'world is going to end in 12 years if we don't address climate change.' Or POTUS saying the 'greatest threat' to U.S. security is climate change. I consider those to be extreme positions - to say the least."

The Wisconsin Republican was referencing remarks made by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in January 2019. Ocasio-Cortez has said she did not mean the world would literally end in 12 years, and was referencing a United Nations report that said humans only had a dozen years to change their behavior and avoid a climate change catastrophe.

Johnson also dismissed President Joe Biden's comments on the national security threat posed by climate change, which have been backed up by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.

"Climate change is going to impact natural resources, for example," Milley said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in June. "It's going to impact increased instability in various parts of the world. It's going to impact migrations, and so on."

Johnson has a long record of making statements at odds with science and denying that climate change is a product of human activities. In 2010, for example, Johnson falsely said Greenland only recently froze and erroneously suggested it was named for its previously green landscapes.

Watch a video of Johnson's remarks on climate change at the GOP luncheon last month, which occur around the 52-minute mark:

WI Senior US Senator Ron Johnson Speech June 5, 2021 from on Vimeo.