Trump on cold snap: 'What the hell is going on' with global warming?

With people in parts of the US facing life-threatening cold temperatures this week, President Trump took to Twitter and joked about global warming.

"In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded", Trump wrote on Monday.

"In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can't last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming [sic]? Please come back fast, we need you!"

"Be careful and try staying in your house", he wrote in another tweet on January 20. "Large parts of the Country are suffering from tremendous amounts of snow and near record setting cold. Amazing how big this system is. Wouldn't be bad to have a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming right now!"

Over the years, Trump has posted many messages on the matter. Once he had tweeted: "Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?"

Critical reactions included, "It's called climate change and 98% of scientists confirm it," and "when you don't know the difference between weather and climate."

The president has long expressed scepticism about climate change, dismissing it in the past as a hoax.

"The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive", he tweeted in 2012.