Biden Calls Climate Change Deniers ‘Neanderthals’ In Speech

In a speech near the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, President Joe Biden made headlines when he addressed the issue of climate change and described climate change deniers as “Neanderthals.”

Biden said, “I’ve been [in] helicopters in the West, in the Southwest and Northwest, flown over more land burned to the ground, all the vegetation gone, than the entire state of Maryland,” partly in reference to the wildfires in Texas. With obvious sarcasm, he continued, “The idea there’s no such thing as climate change, I love that, man… I love some of my Neanderthal friends who still think there’s no climate change.”

Biden intended to discredit those who deny or downplay the reality of climate change and highlight the overwhelming scientific evidence that substantiates its existence and attributes it primarily to human activity. The empirical data shows a significant rise in global temperatures, exacerbated by carbon dioxide emissions that resulted from the burning of fossil fuels. These greenhouse gases trap heat and lead to increasingly severe consequences such as wildfires, extreme weather events, heightened flooding and rising sea levels.

Biden’s comment has sparked controversy that this comparison is an insult to Neanderthals. Archaeological evidence shows that the extinct human species of Neanderthals possessed a level of intelligence and sophistication demonstrated by their artistic expressions, rudimentary medicinal practices, tool usage and burial rituals. Although no longer present, traces of Neanderthal DNA can be found in the genetic makeup of many modern humans.

While the president’s choice of words may have been intended to highlight the urgency of addressing climate change, it has drawn attention away from the core issue. Climate change is an urgent global crisis caused by human activities. Dr. Michael E. Mann from the University of Pennsylvania described it as a “‘new abnormal'” that is unfolding in real-time and will worsen unless we take immediate action to reduce carbon pollution and transition away from fossil fuels.

Biden was recently ranked the 14th best U.S. president in U.S. history with nemesis Donald Trump ranked dead last.