Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak's online outburst Monday night mocking the idea of man-made climate change is only the latest in his series of off-screen conservative rants, Salon reported.
On Monday, Sajak attacked "global warming alarmists," accusing them of "knowingly misleading for their own ends":
I now believe global warming alarmists are unpatriotic racists knowingly misleading for their own ends. Good night.
— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) May 20, 2014But Sajak also voiced skepticism about global warming as far back as 2007 in a column for the conservative website Human Events, arguing that "a large (and growing) segment" of researchers were doing the same. To date, an overwhelming majority of studies on the matter have concluded that the planet's changing climate patterns are cause for concern.
Sajak, who wrote for the site between 2007 and 2013, expressed similar sarcasm about global warming earlier this month, albeit in slightly more neutral terms:
Very hot weather: "We're all going to die!" Very cold weather: "There's a difference between climate & weather, moron!"
— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) May 11, 2014Earlier today, Sajak downplayed the impact of the New York Times' controversial firing of its first female executive editor, Jill Abramson:
At malls & grocery stores throughout America, everyone's talking about Jill Abramson’s firing from NY Times. Yeah.
— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) May 20, 2014And earlier this month, he, like Ann Coulter, mocked First Lady Michelle Obama for offering her support to the efforts to rescue the scores of kidnapped girls in Nigeria:
Hard to imagine Eleanor Roosevelt holding a sign reading #Don'tInvadeTheRhineland,Adolph
— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) May 12, 2014The Daily Kos reported that Sajak received some pushback from actual climate scientists following his latest anti-science remarks:
.@patsajak Experts from military, health, & insurance agree with overwhelming majority of scientists. Are they also unpatriotic racists? :(
— Scott A Mandia (@AGW_Prof) May 20, 2014Rather than respond to Mandia's question, however, Sajak seemed to retreat:
Sometimes it's fun to poke a stick in a hornets' nest just to hear the buzzing.
— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) May 20, 2014[Image: "Pat Sajak Arriving At The 38th Daytime Emmy Awards At Hilton Hotel & Casino On June 19, 2010 In Las Vegas, Nv." by Helga Esteb via Shutterstock.com]
