Trump again rejects climate change report, lashes out at Federal Reserve
In an interview Tuesday, President Trump took aim at the Federal Reserve and doubled down on his skepticism of climate change, again rejecting an exhaustive report released by his own administration projecting irreparable harm to the U.S. economy from a changing climate.
"As to whether or not it's man-made and whether or not the effects that you're talking about are there, I don't see it," the president told The Washington Post, referring to the grim economic and environmental effects detailed in last week's National Climate Assessment.
"One of the problems that a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence but we're not necessarily such believers," Mr. Trump added. "You look at our air and our water and it's right now at a record clean."
Mr. Trump also criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, blaming him for the recent downturn in the stock market and General Motors' decision to lay off thousands of workers in the U.S. and Canada and stop production at several facilities.
"I'm doing deals and I'm not being accommodated by the Fed," Mr. Trump told the Post. "They're making a mistake because I have a gut and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else's brain can ever tell me."
Mr. Trump also stressed that he had "no intention" of impeding or halting special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in U.S. elections. But the president declined to commit to allowing the probe to continue until Mueller's team finishes its work.
"The Mueller investigation is what it is. It just goes on and on and on," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters on Tuesday he "probably would" block a bipartisan legislative proposal to make it more difficult for Mr. Trump to shut down the Mueller probe. The measure is supported by several GOP senators, including Jeff Flake of Arizona and Tennessee's Bob Corker.
Mr. Trump also suggested he is open to cancelling a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for the upcoming G20 summit in Argentina after the Russian navy seized three Ukrainian naval ships in the contested waters of the Black Sea on Sunday.
He said he will make a final decision once his national security team provides him a "full report" on the confrontation.
"That will be very determinative," Trump said. "Maybe I won't have the meeting. Maybe I won't even have the meeting ... I don't like that aggression. I don't want that aggression at all."