Incredible moment Senator John Kennedy destroys Olympic skier Gus Schumacher after Democrats invited him to testify as ‘expert witness’ on climate change – and reads out his damning old tweets
Senate Democrats were left red-faced at a hearing on climate change as their ‘expert witness’ proved to be anything but when faced by veteran senator John Kennedy.
Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse invited Olympic skier Gus Schumacher to give his perspective as the committee considered the impact of climate change on the recreation industry.
But it was all downhill for the 23-year-old as he struggled to answer basic questions and could not remember his tweets claiming the war on drugs was designed to jail black people, and calling for the police to be abolished.
The excruciating exchange continued with Schumacher insisting carbon dioxide is a ‘huge part of our atmosphere’, before Kennedy pointed out that it accounts for 0.04 percent.
‘Well, okay. But, yeah. I don’t know,’ the skier admitted.
Democrats invited US Olympic skier Gus Schumacher to the Budget Committee to answer questions on ‘Recreation at Risk: The Nature of Climate Costs’
The 23-year-old said climate change has ‘dramatically altered the conditions for winter sports’
Introducing the hearing, Senator Whitehouse praised the quality of the ‘highly credible witnesses’ the committee had heard from.
‘We have heard warnings from economists, scientists, medical professionals, insurance and investment executives, even a former Republican Senate Majority Leader. They warn of danger ahead.’
But there was danger ahead for Schumacher as he tried to fend off Kennedy’s interrogation which began with a question about what carbon dioxide is.
‘I went to high school, but carbon dioxide is a gas,’ the skier told him
‘I’m not a professional to talk about carbon dioxide so much.
But Kennedy demanded an explanation about the gas’s role in climate change.
‘Carbon dioxide is, what I see it as, you know, a gas that exists in our atmosphere,’ Schumacher explained.
‘Is it a major part of our atmosphere?’ Kennedy asked innocently.
‘It’s a huge part of our atmosphere,’ the skier insisted.
‘It’s a very small part of our atmosphere,’ the Senator pointed out.
‘Well, okay. But, yeah. I don’t know. What are you asking specifically?’ Schumacher replied.
But the skier slipped over in the face of questions from Republican Senator John Kennedy
The University of Alaska student is a triple Gold Medal winner at the Junior World Championships and represented the US in cross-county skiing at the last Winter Olympics
Comment about his performance at the committee was unforgiving on social media
‘You said we need to reduce carbon emissions,’ Kennedy reminded him, ‘I’d like to know first if you know what it is.’
Schumacher, who competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics, insisted he had seen ‘climate change dramatically alter the conditions for winter sports,’ during his decade or so on the slopes.
And Kennedy was keen to test his expertise on other issues he had weighed in on including a 2020 retweet claiming the ‘war on drugs was intentionally created to incarcerate black people en masse’.
‘Who intentionally created the ‘war on drugs’ to put black people in jail?’ Kennedy demanded.
Schumacher said he did not remember the tweet, adding: ‘I’m here as an athlete giving you my story of what I’ve seen in my field.’
The senator then asked about a tweet calling for the police to ‘abolished’ and replaced with a new service.
‘You think we ought to abolish the police?’ Kennedy asked. ‘Should we do that before or after we get rid of fossil fuels?’
‘I’m not going to address that,’ the skier replied.
Footage of the head-clutching exchange left viewers baffled as to why he had been invited with some suggesting he should stick to what he knows.
‘I just like play in the snow and I like noticed the snow wasn’t so snowy anymore,’ tweeted one.
‘It’s sad this fella went to the Senate to speak about Carbon dioxide and it’s effect on the environment and he has no clue,’ added another.
‘He thought it would be fun to go advise the Senate on an important issue. That fun ended at Senator John Kennedy,’ wrote a third.
Schumacher (right) was invited to speak by Democrat Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (left) and appeared alongside Hilary Hutcheson, a fishing guide and outfitter from Montana
And the young skier appeared unfazed about his mauling at the hands of the veteran senator
Schumacher deleted the X account from which the senator quoted at Wednesday’s hearing.
And though some compared him to the gormless surfer Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemount High, the young Alaskan did not seem fazed by his mauling at the hands of the Republican Senator, insisting it had been a ‘huge honor’.
‘I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I’m using my platform to elevate the issue!’ he wrote on Facebook.
‘I hope that my testimony has made an impact on public officials making policy decisions.’
