Trump's likely science adviser calls climate scientists 'glassy-eyed cult'

William Happer, frontrunner for job of providing mainstream scientific opinion to officials, backs crackdown on federal scientists' freedom to speak out

The man tipped as frontrunner for the role of science adviser to Donald Trump has described climate scientists as "a glassy-eyed cult" in the throes of a form of collective madness.

William Happer, an eminent physicist at Princeton University, met Trump last month to discuss the post and says that if he were offered the job he would take it. Happer is highly regarded in the academic community, but many would view his appointment as a further blow to the prospects of concerted international action on climate change.