MANCHESTER, N.H. _ Sounding very much like a presidential candidate, Gov. Jay Inslee spent Tuesday morning pitching his argument that fighting climate change must be the paramount issue in the 2020 elections to college students in the first-in-the-nation primary state.
Entering his appearance at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics, Inslee paused in a corridor to look at a photo of former President Jimmy Carter visiting Robie's Country Store in the state, before the 1976 primary.
"Funny, a small state governor with no name ID became president of the United States. Isn't that strange? I wonder how that could happen," Inslee quipped.
Speaking to about 40 students, with local and national media watching, Inslee told students the fight against climate change is both a peril and an opportunity for a clean-power fueled new economy.
"We know we have to essentially decarbonize our economy. We know we have to stop being slaves to the oil and gas industry. We know we have to break this monopoly of the fossil fuel industry, which has kept us addicted to fossil fuels and slaves to whatever price hikes they impose on us," Inslee said, urging the students to make the cause their own.
Asked by reporters whether he was entering the 2020 presidential race, Inslee said he would make a decision within "weeks, not months."
But Inslee said he is determined to make climate change a key issue in the upcoming presidential election, whether he runs or not _ and took a shot at President Donald Trump.
"The effort to defeat Donald Trump is an effort to defeat a fearful man who is a pessimist, who doesn't believe we are smart enough to beat climate change. He is wrong about the basic character of the American people and he is wrong about the science of climate change. And that's going to be proven in the next election cycle if I have anything to do about it."
Some students who watched Inslee said they appreciated his focus on climate, though they're not sure who they'll support in 2020.
"I loved his speech. I didn't really know much about him before this," said Ailish Husband, a freshman at the college. "If he did run, I would seriously consider him."
Inslee was scheduled to speak later in the afternoon at Dartmouth College. He was scheduled to fly to New York for a TV interview before returning to Washington state on Wednesday.
New of Inslee's visit to New Hampshire drew a frosty response from some Granite State Democrats frustrated by his failure, as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association last year, to direct money in support of candidate Molly Kelly, who lost to incumbent Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.
"As chair of the DGA he chose to spend zilch of the $138 million the DGA spent on 2018 governors races in NH. Spent a fortune on losing races in FL and GA. A little bit of it could have made a difference in NH," longtime Democratic political operative Judy Reardon wrote on Twitter earlier this month.
