--- title: Ted Cruz Says Climate Change Fears Falsified By Scientists description: The Texas Senator tells GOP mega-donors that there is no evidence to back up scientists' claims on global warming. canonical: https://time.com/3981623/ted-cruz-climate-change/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-03T01:39:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:46.995Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Rejects Climate Change As Science og:description: The White House hopeful says research is garbage and a phenomenon a hoax. og:url: https://time.com/3981623/ted-cruz-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7844c4bc7fac7f6/69885126a988caeea96b2abe/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz greets supporters at the Georgia Republican Convention in Athens, Ga. on May 15, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Rejects Climate Change As Science twitter:description: The White House hopeful says research is garbage and a phenomenon a hoax. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7844c4bc7fac7f6/69885126a988caeea96b2abe/ted-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Says Climate-Change Fears Falsified by Scientists and Politicians > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fc557057-97e2-4cd1-8b90-50813fe74921&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Real Time: Ted Cruz Rallies The Right At CPAC 2015 [Watch (HLS stream): Real Time: Ted Cruz Rallies The Right At CPAC 2015](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KFQHEvq4.m3u8) (0:59)  _Published 2015-02-26. Ted Cruz fired up the conservative base during his speech on the first day of CPAC 2015._  by [Philip Elliott / Dana Point, Calif.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Dana Point, Calif. Senior Correspondent Aug 3, 2015 1:39 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz greets supporters at the Georgia Republican Convention in Athens, Ga. on May 15, 2015. Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz greets supporters at the Georgia Republican Convention in Athens, Ga. on May 15, 2015. David Goldman—AP  by [Philip Elliott / Dana Point, Calif.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Dana Point, Calif. Senior Correspondent Aug 3, 2015 1:39 AM UTC Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday said facts don’t support climate change, in a speech that described the notion as a front for power-hungry politicians who want to control Americans’ lives. During an appearance before some of the most influential conservative donors in the country, the Texas Republican said there is no factual basis for scientists’ research that shows the planet is changing. The 2016 White House hopeful said none of the research is worth the paper it is printed on. “If you look at satellite data for the last 18 years, there’s been zero recorded warming,” Cruz said in California’s Orange County. “The satellite says it ain’t happening.” Instead, Cruz said, government researchers are reverse engineering data sets to falsify changes in the climate. “They’re cooking the books. They’re actually adjusting the numbers,” Cruz said. “Enron used to do their books the same way.” Cruz said scientists four decades ago were studying “global cooling, a global ice age was coming,” and they were as wrong as those who now say the earth is warming. “Senator, you’re not saying global warming isn’t real?” interrupted his interviewer, _Politico’s_ Mike Allen. “I’m saying that data and facts don’t support it,” Cruz said to applause from 450 donors to the political network organized by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch. “Full on denial?” Allen replied, making sure he was understanding the first-term Senator. Cruz was ready with his retort. “It is always disturbing to hear science use the language of theology. Deniers. Heretics. That’s not what sicence is supposed to be about. Science should follow the facts.” Cruz then said the notion is being used to control the economy and energy industry in the hopes of combating of climate change. “To any power-greedy politician, this is the perfect theory. It can never, ever, ever be disproven,” Cruz said. Science, however, does not back up Cruz’s position. Geochemist James Lawrence Powell, an adviser to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, reviewed peer-reviewed science journals and found that only two articles rejected climate change during 2013\. His sample size: 10,885 articles. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] The way we get to 51 % is bring together conservatives and Libertarians and evangelicals and women and young people and Hispanics and Reagan Democrats. Hillary Clinton embodies the corruption of Washington. Our nation is in crisis at home. Millions of Americans' are hurting. Obamacare, is a train- wreck. We need a Commander in Chief, who will actually stand up and defend the United States of America. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] It is wrong for the federal government or unelected judges to tear down the marriage laws of the states. [ APPLAUSE ] Take all 125 thousand IRS agents and put them on our southern border. 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