McCarthy rebukes Ocasio-Cortez for comparing threat of climate change to WWII

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy rebuked freshman Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) for comparing the threat posed by climate change to World War II.

“No. Not at all,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) told TMN at a news conference on Wednesday when asked if the two scenarios are comparable.

When asked if Ocasio-Cortez should apologize, McCarthy said: “She can use her own language, what she wants to do.”

McCarthy explained: “What we went through in World War II, the individuals who were being murdered and slaughtered just for their own faith … battling for the freedom of the world, when America rose to the occasion with many millions of others  I think does not hold a comparison.”

With regard to climate change, McCarthy said: “I think it’s important that we deal with what’s going on in our environment.” However, he added: “I do not believe it rises to the same occasion.”

At a rally on Monday in New York City in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ocasio-Cortez spoke of differences in generational attitudes toward climate change.

“Millennials and people, you know, Gen. Z and all these folks that will come after us, are looking up and we’re like: ‘The world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change, and your biggest issue is how are we gonna pay for it?’ ”

She went on to say that for millennials, the effort to combat climate change is “our World War II.”

Ocasio-Cortez, 29, is a self-professed Democratic socialist. She shocked the national political establishment last September upon defeating 10-term incumbent congressman Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary. Since taking office this month, Ocasio-Cortez has garnered significant media attention in large part due to her outspoken nature.

Though a freshman lawmaker, Ocasio-Cortez has been assigned to two of the most powerful committees in the House of Representatives. She will sit on the Financial Services Committee and the Oversight and Reform Committee.

President Donald Trump’s former attorney and personal “fixer” Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify before the Oversight Committee on Feb. 7.

This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News