Pete Buttigieg slams GOP congresswoman’s asinine climate change speech in just 5 words

Out Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg pithily responded to an embarrassing speech about climate change that Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) made on the House floor.

“The farmers in my district recognize climate change as summer, winter, spring, and fall,” she said. “We would like the USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] to focus on policies that actually help producers and rural communities.” That was her full speech.

Related:

Lauren Boebert rages at Pete Buttigieg for caring about climate change but still traveling

She called him a “hypocrite” for using government-owned planes to travel for work.

Miller: The farmers in my district recognize climate change as summer, winter, spring, and fall pic.twitter.com/rytUJvE0Le

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 27, 2023

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“Are we really doing this?” Buttigieg responded incredulously.

Are we really doing this? https://t.co/zATAJp7s6v

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) September 27, 2023

Buttigieg heard a similar comment while testifying at a House Transportation & Infrastructure Hearing last week. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) also compared climate change to seasons changing when he questioned Buttigieg.

“What I can tell you is climate change is real, and we’ve got to do something about it,” Buttigieg said at the hearing.

“Yeah, this one is called autumn, sir,” LaMalfa responded.

Confused, Buttigieg asked, “I’m sorry?”

LaMalfa repeated, “Yes, this one is called autumn right now, so yeah.”

Buttigieg said, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t make out what you said.”

LaMalfa said a third time, “This climate change right now is called autumn, yes.”

Buttigieg responded, “Yeah, that’s the seasons changing which respectively is not the same as the climate changing.”

Lmao @PeteButtigieg pic.twitter.com/15K0EvEV4e

— chyea ok (@chyeaok) September 20, 2023

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather and atmospheric conditions, detected by “a wide array of measurements and observations over decades or hundreds of years” which “show a long-term warming trend caused by humans,” according to a fact-check by USA Today.

Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels has contributed to global warming and “sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves,” NASA says. It has also contributed to extreme weather events, drought, widespread wildfires, and other catastrophes.

The USDA is concerned about climate change because it directly impacts farmers’ ability to produce food.

“Climate change presents numerous challenges to sustaining and enhancing crop productivity, livestock health, and the economic vitality of rural communities,” the USDA’s Fourth National Climate Assessment says. “Yields from major U.S. crops are expected to decline as a consequence of increases in temperatures and possibly changes in water availability, soil erosion, and disease and pest outbreaks. Increases in temperatures during the growing season in the Midwest are projected to be the largest contributing factor to declines in the productivity of U.S. agriculture. Projected increases in extreme heat conditions are expected to lead to further heat stress for livestock, which can result in large economic losses for producers.”