Former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) – Former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump is wrong to believe that climate change is a hoax, adding that if the U.S. turns away from combatting climate change, other countries may do the same.



“Mr. Trump campaigned as somebody who believes that climate change is a ‘hoax.’ Mr. Trump is wrong. Climate change is not a hoax,” Sanders said at the Christian Science Monitor Breakfast. “Climate change, according to the scientific community, is one of the great threats to this planet, and I would hope very much-- Donald Trump is nobody’s fool.





“He is a smart guy, and I would hope very much that he recognizes that that point of view that he has is way out of touch with the scientific community believes,” Sanders added.



At CNN’s town hall in March, then-presidential candidate Trump told Anderson Cooper that the only global warming he’s worried about is “nuclear global warming.”



“I think that -- you know, when I hear Obama get up and say the biggest threat to the world today is global warming, I say, is this guy kidding?” Trump said at the time.



“The only global warming, the only global warming I'm worried about is nuclear global warming because that's the single biggest threat,” he said.



Sanders urged Trump on Thursday to meet with the scientific community to discuss the issue.



“I would hope that he would bring scientists into his administration, into his office and discuss with him the threat of climate change and the need to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Sanders said.



“The future of the planet to a significant degree rests on that, because if the United States turns away from combatting climate change, there is no reason to believe that China, Russia, India, other large countries will not do the same, so I would hope that Mr. Trump takes a—takes the time to listen to the scientific community and meet with them,” Sanders added.