David Koch Denies Climate Change, Appears Bewildered When Asked About Citizens United by ThinkProgress

Brendan DeMelle DeSmog
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Lee Fang from ThinkProgress had the chance to conduct an impromptu interview with billionaire polluter magnate David Koch of Koch Industries last week in Washington.ย  Despite the best efforts of Americans For Prosperity president Tim Phillips to end the interview by pestering Fang and his cameraman continously, Fang succeeds in getting Koch to answer several questions.ย  In part one, Koch acknowledges there are โ€œsome extremistsโ€ in the Tea Party, but that most of them are โ€œnormal people like usโ€ – where โ€œusโ€ equals the handful of people worth $21.5 billion or more.

In part two, when asked about Americans For Prosperityโ€™s work to confuse public understanding of climate change, and about his own grasp of climate change science, David Koch delivers a barely comprehensible response demonstrating his need to brush up on the usual climate denierย arguments.

FANG: Why does Americans for Prosperity focus so much on the science of climate change? Iโ€™m just curious why they spread so much information that denies the existence of climate, of global warming?

KOCH: Wellโ€ฆ I think itโ€™s uh, regulating CO2 excessively is going to put โ€” uh really damage the economy.

FANG: Do you believe in climate change yourself, Mr. Koch?

KOCH: Climate does fluctuate. It goes from hot to cold. We have ice ages.

FANG: But do you believe carbon pollution affects climate change? [Koch shrugs]

Watch:


In part three, when asked by Fang about the Supreme Courtโ€™s horribly flawed decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which granted corporations unlimited financial influence over political campaigns, Koch at first does not even recognize what Fang is talking about, appearing confused and turning to Tim Phillips to see if he knowhs what this โ€œCitizens Unitedโ€ thingyย is.

FANG: What do you think of Citizens United? Has it helped your influence?

KOCH: Citizens United?

FANG: The Supreme Court decision.

KOCH: Oh.. Hmโ€ฆย [โ€ฆ]

Isnโ€™t it nice to see how well-informed the billionaire Koch is about vital aspects of Americaโ€™s crumbling democracy?

Fang then asks Koch to comment about the secretive meeting that Koch Industries sponsored last June in Aspen which drew Glenn Beck, the Chamber of Commerce and other wealthyย polluters.

At that point, Koch decides that itโ€™s time to find his escape vehicle and abruptly walksย away.

Watch:

Brendan DeMelle DeSmog
Brendan is Executive Director of DeSmog. He is also a freelance writer and researcher specializing in media, politics, climate change and energy. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Grist, The Washington Times and other outlets.

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