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 confronted by veteran Senator John Kennedy.
Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse invited Olympic skier Gus Schumacher to give his perspective as the committee looked at the impact of climate change on the recreation industry.
But it all went downhill for the 23-year-old as he struggled to answer basic questions and couldn’t remember his tweets claiming the war on drugs was designed to imprison black people and calling for the abolition of the police.
The excruciating exchange continued with Schumacher insisting that carbon dioxide is a “big part of our atmosphere”, before Kennedy pointed out that it makes up 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 changed the conditions for winter sports’
Introducing the hearing Senator Whitehouse praised the quality of the ‘highly credible witnesses’ the committee had heard from.
“We’ve heard warnings from economists, scientists, medical professionals, insurance and investment managers, and even a former Republican Senate Majority Leader. They warn of danger.’
But danger loomed for Schumacher as he tried to fend off Kennedy’s questioning, 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 so much about carbon dioxide.
But Kennedy demanded an explanation of the gas’s role in climate change.
“Carbon dioxide, as I see it, is a gas that exists in our atmosphere,” Schumacher explained.
“Is it an important part of our atmosphere?” Kennedy asked innocently.
“It’s a big part of our atmosphere,” the skier insisted.
“It’s a very small part of our atmosphere,” the senator noted.
‘Well okay. But yeah. Don’t know. What specifically are you asking?’ Schumacher replied.
But the skier slipped away due to questions from Republican Senator John Kennedy
The University of Alaska student is a three-time gold medalist at the Junior World Championships and represented the U.S. in cross-country skiing at the last Winter Olympics
Commentary on his appearance at the committee was relentless 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 is competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics, insisted that during his decade or so on the slopes he had seen “climate change dramatically change the conditions for winter sports.”
And Kennedy was keen to test his expertise on other issues he had spoken out on, including a 2020 retweet claiming that the “war on drugs was deliberately created to incarcerate black people en masse.”
“Who deliberately created the ‘war on drugs’ to put black people in jail?” Kennedy asked.
Schumacher said he did not remember the tweet, adding: “I’m here as an athlete giving you my story about what I saw in my field.”
The senator then asked about a tweet calling on the police to “abolish” the service and replace it with a new service.
“Do you think we should abolish the police?” Kennedy asked. “Should we do that before or after we get off fossil fuels?”
“I’m not going to answer that,” the skier replied.
Footage of the heated exchange left viewers baffled as to why he was invited, with some suggesting he should stick to what he knows.
“I just like playing in the snow and I notice it doesn’t snow like that anymore,” one person tweeted.
“It’s sad that this guy went to the Senate to talk about carbon dioxide and its effects on the environment but he has no idea about it,” another added.
‘He thought it would be fun to advise the Senate on an important issue. That fun ended with Senator John Kennedy,” wrote a third.
Schumacher (right) was invited to speak by Democratic Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (left) and appeared alongside Hilary Hutcheson, a fishing guide and outfitter from Montana
And the young skier seemed unfazed by his mauling by the veteran senator
Schumacher deleted the X account from which the senator quoted during Wednesday’s hearing.
And while some compared him to gormless surfer Jeff Spicoli of Fast Times at Ridgemount High, the young Alaskan seemed unfazed by his drubbing by the Republican senator, insisting it had been a “huge honor.”
“I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I am using my platform to elevate the issue!” he wrote on Facebook.
“I hope my testimony has had an impact on government officials making policy decisions.”