Professor Stephen Hawking, the renowned physicist and cosmologist, can explain black holes, quantum mechanics and relativity. But one subject he doesn't understand is the allure of Donald Trump.
Hawking called Trump "a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator" and said he couldn't explain the popularity of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in an interview that aired Tuesday on ITV's Good Morning Britain.
The real estate magnate's appeal has long baffled even the greatest pollsters. He all but secured the GOP nomination last week after reaching the required number of delegates to put him over the top.
Hawking isn't the first prominent scientist to slam Trump and his Republican brethren. In April, Bill Nye called out the party's leadership for its deep-seated climate change denial, despite near universal agreement from the world's leading scientists that the planet is warming, and humans are the prime cause.
"There's still a very strong contingent of people who are in denial about climate change," Nye told CNN. "And if you don't believe me, look at the three people currently running for president of the world's most influential country who are ... climate change deniers."
Hawking also commented on the ongoing discussions around the United Kingdom's upcoming vote to remain in the European Union during his breakfast TV interview. He said Britain should remain part of the alliance, pointing to financial boons and an ability for students to attend universities throughout the EU.
“Gone are the days when we could stand on our own, against the world,” he said. “We need to be part of a larger group of nations, both for our security and our trade."
H/T Politico
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.
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