I'm not a scientist

{{Short description|Political phrase}}

{{Multiple issues|

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"I'm not a scientist" is a phrase that has been used by some American politicians, primarily those of the Republican Party and Libertarian Party, when asked about a scientific subject, such as global warming,{{cite news|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/05/why-republicans-always-say-im-not-a-scientist.html|title=Why Do Republicans Always Say 'I'm Not a Scientist'?|newspaper=New York|date=May 30, 2014|access-date=March 16, 2015|last=Chait|first=Jonathan}} or the age of the Earth.{{cite web|url=http://grist.org/climate-energy/how-to-get-republicans-to-stop-using-the-im-not-a-scientist-dodge/|title=How to get Republicans to stop using the 'I'm not a scientist' dodge|work=Grist|date=October 17, 2014|access-date=March 16, 2015|last=Adler|first=Ben}} Use of the phrase in the relevant sense goes back at least to Ronald Reagan;{{cite book |last1=Levitan |first1=Dave |title=Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science |date=2017 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |location=New York |isbn=9780393353327 |page=1}} politicians who have used the phrase include John Boehner, Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal,{{cite web|url=http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/03/3575849/not-a-scientist/|title='I'm Not A Scientist': A Complete Guide To Politicians Who Plead Ignorance On Climate Change|last=Atkin|first=Emily|date=October 3, 2014|work=ThinkProgress|access-date=April 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006031015/http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/03/3575849/not-a-scientist|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=dead}} and Mitch McConnell.{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mcconnell-climbs-aboard-the-im-not-scientist-train|title=McConnell climbs aboard the 'I'm not a scientist' train|work=MSNBC|date=October 3, 2014|access-date=March 16, 2015|last=Benen|first=Steve|author-link=Steve Benen}} It has been criticized by Coral Davenport writing for The New York Times,{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/why-republicans-keep-telling-everyone-theyre-not-scientists.html | title=Why Republicans Keep Telling Everyone They're Not Scientists | newspaper=The New York Times | date=October 30, 2014 | access-date=March 16, 2015 | author=Davenport, Coral}} and by Steven Benen of the Rachel Maddow Show, and was satirized by Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report.{{cite news | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-colbert-on-im-not-a-scientist-2014-11 | title=Stephen Colbert Has The Best Translation Of Republicans' New Favorite Catchphrase | newspaper=Business Insider | date=November 7, 2014 | access-date=March 16, 2015 | author=Loria, Kevin}}

President Barack Obama singled the phrase out in his 2015 State of the Union Address, saying:

I’ve heard some folks try to dodge the evidence [of global climate change] by saying they’re not scientists; that we don’t have enough information to act. Well, I’m not a scientist, either. But you know what, I know a lot of really good scientists at NASA, and at NOAA, and at our major universities. And the best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we don’t act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration and conflict and hunger around the globe.{{cite web |agency=Office of the Press Secretary |website=whitehouse.gov |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/20/remarks-president-state-union-address-january-20-2015 |title=Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address |date=January 20, 2015 |access-date=July 9, 2022 |first1=Barack |last1=Obama}}

Ford O'Connell, a Republican strategist and conservative activist, has argued that the phrase "won't be a winner in the presidential field" for Republican candidates.{{cite web |author1=Volcovici, Valerie |author2=Becker, Amanda| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-climatechange-insight-idUSKBN0L00D620150127 | title=On climate change, 'not a scientist' not enough for some U.S. Republicans | work=Reuters | date=January 27, 2015 | access-date=April 4, 2015}}

Commenting on the phenomenon, journalist Dan Rather deplored the antiscience attitude it evinces, but stated that the antiscience attitude was evident not just among Republicans, but throughout American society. He blamed the media for their poor coverage of science, and for presenting a false equivalency between scientific consensus and climate change denial.{{cite web|last1=Rather|first1=Dan|title=Ignoring science isn't just a Republican problem. It's an American problem|url=http://mashable.com/2015/09/23/dan-rather-science-politics-election-2016/|website=Mashable|date=September 23, 2015 |access-date=September 24, 2015}}