The similarities between Texas Senator Ted Cruz and 16th-century astronomer Galileo Galilei are remarkable, according to Cruz.In an interview on Tuesday with the Texas Tribune, the newly-minted presidential candidate compared himself to the Galileo when discussing, of all things, whether climate change was actually occurring.
"Today the global warming alarmists are the equivalent of the flat-Earthers," Cruz said. "You know it used to be it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier."
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Cruz says he trusts satellite data that he believes shows that the Earth's temperatures have held steady over the past 17 years.
"Anyone who actually points to the evidence that disproves their apocalyptical claims, they don't engage in reasoned debate. What do they do? They scream, 'You're a denier.' They brand you a heretic," Cruz added.
The overwhelming majority of climate scientists say that global warming is occurring and that human activity has been one of the driving forces behind it. On March 20, PolitiFact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning project that fact checks the news, rated a similar satellite data claim of Cruz's "Mostly False," saying it ignored a longer-term trend.
Italian scientist Galileo Galilei, who died in 1642, was an early proponent of the idea that the Earth rotates around the Sun, for which he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Representatives for Cruz declined a request seeking clarification.
Cruz maintained that the U.S. shouldn't turn to government regulation that would raise energy prices in order to try and combat climate change.
"We shouldn't be causing millions of hard working men and women to have their energy bills go through the roof," he said. "It causes real harm and suffering when people all across this country lose jobs because the federal government wants to take control of aspects of our lives."
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