Professor Stephen Hawking fears he “may not be welcome” in America under the Trump administration. The famed physicist and cosmologist said that while he still respects America, Donald Trump in the White House stirs discomfort, hinting at the new immigration policies.
"I would like to visit again and to talk to other scientists, but I fear that I may not be welcome," he said in a recent interview on "Good Morning Britain." The scientist expressed his uncertainties regarding America’s "definite swing to a right wing, more authoritarian approach."
Hawking talks America
Scheduled to air Monday, Hawking’s interview on the British morning show also tackled Trump’s environmental policies.
While pointing out the great dangers of climate change, he said that it’s one issue that human beings can prevent. “It affects America badly, so tackling it should win votes for his second term. God forbid," the 75-year-old said.
Hawking also thinks that Scott Pruitt, chief of the US Environmental Protection Agency, should be removed from position. The professor’s comment follows Pruitt’s interview on CNBC earlier this month, saying that carbon dioxide is not a major cause of global warming.
Pruitt’s appointment by Trump was highly criticized because of his track record of denying climate science, prompting a correction from the American Meteorological Society. In the letter, the AMS said that scientists worldwide have all reached the same conclusion that greenhouse gases are the cause of temperature rise based on “multiple independent lines of evidence,” and that the findings were “indisputable.”
Trump 'is a demagogue'
Slamming Trump isn’t exactly new for Hawking, having angered the president’s supporters last year upon calling him a “demagogue.” In his interview with British talk show host Piers Morgan, the scientist echoed his previous Trump tag and said that the POTUS was “elected by people who felt disenfranchised by the governing elite in a revolt against globalization.”
A preview of Hawking’s interview can be seen on "Good Morning Britain’s" Twitter page. The physicist was recently awarded Honorary Freedom of the City of London, the highest award that the city can grant, in honor of his outstanding contribution to theoretical physics.
