U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm loudly implored Americans to take climate change seriously during an interview, Friday.
While urging viewers to tune into her upcoming speech at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Granholm looked into the camera and screamed, "Climate change is an existential threat!" She then demanded to know if Americans even care about the future or their children.
The moment received ridicule on social media.
The over-the-top clip came from an interview Granholm did with journalist and SXSW Studio host Wajahat Ali during the famous multi-day tech and culture festival in Texas. Ali and Granholm discussed issues pertaining to climate change and the U.S.’s foray into clean energy production.
At one point during the interview, Granholm sang the praises of China's climate change initiatives and noted that the U.S. could "learn" from them, even though the massive Asian country is ranked among the biggest contributors to climate change on the planet.
Things escalated, however, when Granholm made a pitch to festival goers to attend her speech on American clean energy later at the event.
When asked to convince people why they should see her speech, she turned to the camera and practically screamed, saying, "It is an existential threat! Do you care about climate change? Do you care about the future for you, for your children?"
She continued, "Do you want to know how we can solve it through cool technology? I’ve got a very snappy Prezi [presentation] that I’m going to be doing. How can anybody turn that down? So come to my speech."
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Granholm ended her pitch with a sheepish chuckle, as Ali jokingly asked his producers in the room, "You all convinced?" A couple of sleepy affirmations could be heard off camera which prompted both Granholm and the host to cheer wildly.
With her hands outstretched, Granholm bellowed, "The throngs!" and then burst out into laughter. The interview then ended as Ali shook her hand and thanked her.
Some Twitter users seemed to find the clip ridiculous.
Townhall.com’s Lindsay Wigo commented, "Circus is in town!"
Anti-climate agenda activist group "Climate Dispatch" ripped Granholm, saying, "She has no idea what she's doing or saying. She's the Buttigieg of energy."
The North Carolina GOP’s Twitter claimed Granholm was an actor performing a bit for the leftist agenda. It tweeted, "All the world's a stage... @SecGranholm here, playing her part."
Conservative radio host Joe Pagliarulo insisted that Granholm wasn’t being herself in this clip. He tweeted, "When @JenGranholm was the AG of Michigan and I interviewed her many times -- she was NOT like this. What is this act? And, what exactly are her credentials to be the energy secretary?"
Conservative columnist Tim Young assessed, "She's virtue signaling to all climate grift cultists..."
Conservative Influencer account "IT GUY" added that Granholm is "Greta in about 40 years," referring to Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
