Trump Supporters Attend Anti-Climate Change Conference

Robert Mercer and his daughter, Rebekah, are two of the wealthiest supporters in Trump's camp, and they recently attended a conference for the Heartland Institute. The topic: climate change. Moreover, they talked about dismissing climate change, as well as the science that supported it.

Speakers at the International Conference on Climate Change denounced climate science and touted the cuts that President Donald Trump is making to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Myron Ebell, a former member of Trump's transition team on the environment, was given the "Speaks Truth to Power Award" at the conference. In his speech, he claimed that the people in attendance, as well as the Mercers, are the reason for the result of the election. He stated that the people who "worked persistently against global warming alarmism" helped Trump win the election.

However, the Mercers' attendance at the conference offers a tell-tale sign on the family's priorities. As President Trump is currently in office, financiers are now appearing as intent as the current administration on rolling back environmental regulations. Still, despite their attendance, their stance on the issue remains a mystery.

The Mercers have been a supporter of the Heartland Institute for a while now. News Max reported that the family's foundation gave the institute over $5 million in donations between 2008 and 2015. However, it has been noted that such donations dropped in recent years. In 2014, the contributions dropped sharply at $885,000 and even more in 2015 when the contribution only totaled to $100,000. During these years, it was noted that the foundation gave $500,000 to Berkeley Earth, an organization run by Richard Muller, a former global warming skeptic who changed his views in 2012.

In an interview with Muller, the physicist said that Robert Mercer contacted him after he gave a speech on big data and climate science at Mercer's hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies. He claimed that Mercer has been supportive of Berkeley Earth's work and that they are still receiving funding from the foundation.