Mayor Bloomberg says White House candidates must believe in evolution, global warming
Belief in science should be a no-brainer, especially for anyone running for President, Mayor Bloomberg groused Thursday.
The mayor used an international economic forum at Columbia University to pop off against any candidates who doubt the science behind hot-button political topics such as evolution and global warming.
“We have presidential candidates who don’t believe in science,” Bloomberg said, without singling out dubious Republican candidates directly.
“I mean, just think about it, can you imagine a company of any size in the world where the CEO said ‘oh I don’t believe in science’ and that person surviving to the end of that day? Are you kidding me? It’s mind-boggling!”
Bloomberg grew coy when asked which candidate he was talking about.
“I don’t know,” he said. “You can check the presidential candidates’ speeches… I don’t have time to go do it but all their speeches, everything they said.”
Only one GOP contender - former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman - has come out full force saying he believes in science.
“To be clear, I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy,” he wrote on Twitter. He later attacked Rick Perry on “This Week” when he said, “The minute that the Republican Party becomes the anti-science party - we have a huge problem.”
Republican front-runner Mitt Romney has also stood up for evolution in the past, refusing to denounce it, as other candidates did, during a 2007 debate.
The reality is that the Republican presidential slate is full of candidates who doubt evidence that rising world temperature is “unequivocal,” as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently noted.