“So let me just clarify: is the President saying, as he seems to be implying here, that the threat of climate change is greater than the threat of terrorism?” ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked White House Press Secretary to clarify remarks Obama had made during his Vox interview, where he was “asked if the media overstates the level of alarm people should have about terrorism as opposed to longer term threats of climate change and epidemic disease.”
“I think Jon, that the point the President is making, is that there are many more people, on an annual basis, who have to confront the impact, the direct impact on their lives, of climate change or on the spread of a disease, than on terrorism,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
Karl: “So the answer is yes, the President thinks climate change is a greater threat than terrorism?”
Earnest: “I think the point the President is making is that when you’re talking about the direct daily impact of these kinds of challenges, on the daily lives of Americans, particularly Americans living in this country, that that direct impact, that more people are directly affected by those things, than by terrorism.”
“So climate change is more of a clear and present danger to the United States than terrorism?” asked an incredulous Karl.
“Well I think even the Department of Defense has spoken to the significant threat that climate change poses to our national security interests,” said Earnest with a satisfied smirk. “Principally because of the significance that it can have on countries with less well developed infrastructure than we have…”
“I’m not asking the significance but I’m asking if it’s a greater threat,” said Karl.
“Well again I wouldn’t have a whole lot more to say about what the President has said in that interview,” said Earnest, shutting down further questioning on Obama’s roundly-criticized interview with Vox.
Fortunately in Earnest’s second attempt to answer this question, he clarified that climate change directly affects more Americans than terrorism. After all, there are over 3 million people displaced by ISIS in Iraq right now, Boko Haram killed 7,000 people last year in Nigeria, and climate change has killed…. How many Americans was it exactly, Earnest?