Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks Scott Pruitt is the worst U.S. environmental protection agency administrator in history — and he’s using his celebrity platform to make sure the world doesn’t follow Pruitt’s lead.
“He’s doing the bidding for the oil companies and the coal companies,“ Schwarzenegger told VICE News at the R20 Austrian World Summit, a climate event he hosts every year in his native country. “I pay no attention to what he says. He can not be taken seriously. He’s the worst Environmental secretary that we have ever had.”
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The 70-year-old made the trip to Vienna despite having open-heart surgery in late March to replace a valve. Schwarzenegger’s message was focused on urging President Trump to join other nations in the world in fighting climate change. But he has no such olive branch for Scott Pruitt.
That’s because California is leading 17 states in suing the EPA over plans to rollback vehicle emissions standards set during the Obama administration. And a decade ago, Schwarzenegger launched a similar legal action while serving as governor.
VICE News tagged along with Schwarzenegger at this years event, where he was joined by Austria’s chancellor Sebastian Kurz, the leaders of Norway and Denmark, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.