President Trump on Sunday mocked Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for launching her presidential campaign in wintry conditions in Minnesota, tweeting that she “looked like a Snowman.”
“Amy Klobuchar announced that she is running for President, talking proudly of fighting global warming while standing in a virtual blizzard of snow, ice and freezing temperatures,” Trump tweeted. “Bad timing. By the end of her speech she looked like a Snowman(woman)!”
Klobuchar announced her candidacy on Sunday in Minneapolis, where scores of supporters stood out in steady snowfall and frigid temperatures.
{mosads}The three-term senator laid out her vision for the country, which included tackling environmental issues. She vowed to “put forth sweeping legislation to invest in green jobs and infrastructure” if elected president. She also declared that she would direct the U.S. to rejoin the Paris climate accord “on day one” of her administration.
Klobuchar additionally said she would “take on the gun lobby,” root out big money in politics, lower health care costs, restore voting rights and implement privacy protection laws.
She did not mention Trump by name, but alluded to him when she declared the country deserved better than “foreign policy by tweet.”
“Our sense of community is fracturing across our nation, worn down by the petty and vicious nature of our politics,” she said. “We are tired of the shutdowns and the showdowns, of the gridlock and the grandstanding. Today, on this snowy island, we say enough is enough.”
Klobuchar became the latest Democrat to enter the 2020 presidential race, joining Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), among others.
Her announcement was preceded by a parade of state and local officials, nearly all of whom made jokes about the weather.
“The rest of America thinks that it’s cold. We know this is a heat wave,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said, adding that she “barely” needed her long underwear.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan took the stage and marveled that it was “a beautiful day.”
Trump has made light of frigid temperatures multiple times in recent months, suggesting that the spell of cold weather in certain parts of the country contradicts global warming.
The president has repeatedly cast doubt on the existence and effects of climate change. Experts have noted that there is a difference between climate and weather.
Updated at 5:25 p.m.