Trump dismisses climate change as 'change in weather' after holding talks with Prince Charles
‘I totally listened to him,’ says US president. ‘He is really into climate change’
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “a change in weather” just hours after holding talks on the issue with Prince Charles.
The US president revealed how the future king spent 90 minutes lobbying him to take action to help save the world for future generations.
Mr Trump, who has previously described climate change as a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese, claimed that the prince “did most of the talking” but did not reveal whether it had any effect on his views.
“He is really into climate change,” Mr Trump told Piers Morgan on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. “I like that... I totally listened to him.
“He wants to make sure future generations have climate that is good climate and that is not a disaster.
“I think we had a great conversation,” the president added. “I tell you what moved me is his passion for future generations.
“This is real, he believes that, he wants to have a world that is good for future generations and I do, too.”
But when asked if he believed in climate change, Mr Trump replied: “I believe that there is a change in weather and I think it changes both ways.
“Don’t forget it used to be called global warming, that wasn’t working, then it’s climate change, now it’s extreme weather.”
He argued that the US had experienced worse weather in the past, referring to hurricanes in the 1890s.
Mr Trump also claimed that the US was “among the cleanest climates” and blamed China, Russia and India for high pollution, suggesting that “in some other cities you can’t even breathe.”
It came as Joe Biden, the forerunner for the Democrat 2020 presidential nomination, released a climate change plan that would pour $1.7 trillion (£1.3 trillion) of investment into achieving 100 per cent clean energy and net-zero emissions by 2050.
His campaign team later admitted that parts of the proposals were copied word-for-word from texts previously published by climate activist groups Blue Green Alliance and the Carbon Capture Coalition.
Mr Biden’s team said the citations of the sources had been “inadvertently left out”.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments