'Climate expert' skier Gus Schumacher reveals Democrats apologized over his mauling by Republican John Kennedy on Capitol Hill - and claims the Senator was 'asking silly, aggressive questions'

The 23-year-old skier introduced by Democrats as an 'expert witness' at a Senate hearing on climate change has revealed the party apologized to him for his mauling at the hands of Republican John Kennedy.

Olympic hopeful Gus Schumacher was invited by Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse to testify as the Budget Committee considered the impact of climate change on the $1.1 trillion outdoor recreation industry.

But he struggled to answer basic questions and could not remember his tweets claiming the war on drugs was designed to jail black people, and calling for the police to be abolished.

In one excruciating exchange Kennedy corrected his asserting that Carbon Dioxide is a 'huge part of our atmosphere', pointing out that it accounts for 0.04 percent, but the skier told Dailymail.com that Whitehouse was 'pretty cheerful' afterwards.

'He apologized for Senator Kennedy and mentioned that it's not the first time he's done that aggressive line of questioning that's not entirely related,' Schumacher added.

Democrats invited US Olympic skier Gus Schumacher to the Budget Committee to answer questions on 'Recreation at Risk: The Nature of Climate Costs'  

Schumacher (right) was invited to speak by Democrat  Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (left) and appeared alongside Hilary Hutcheson, a fishing guide and outfitter from Montana

'I don't think anyone from my team was expecting that approach, he did a good job of making these questions really silly.

The three-time junior gold medalist was representing the lobby group Protect Our Winters after previous testimony from economists, scientists, medical professionals, insurance and investment executives.

But it was all downhill for Schumacher as he tried to fend off Kennedy's interrogation which began with a question about what carbon dioxide is.

'I went to high school, but carbon dioxide is a gas,' the skier told him

'I'm not a professional to talk about carbon dioxide so much.'

But Kennedy demanded an explanation about the gas's role in climate change.

'Carbon dioxide is, what I see it as, you know, a gas that exists in our atmosphere,' Schumacher explained.

'Is it a major part of our atmosphere?' Kennedy asked innocently.

'It's a huge part of our atmosphere,' the skier insisted.

'It's a very small part of our atmosphere,' the Senator pointed out.

'Well, okay. But, yeah. I don't know. What are you asking specifically?' Schumacher replied.

'You said we need to reduce carbon emissions,' Kennedy reminded him, 'I'd like to know first if you know what it is.'

The 23-year-old said climate change has 'dramatically altered the conditions for winter sports'

Comment about his performance at the committee was unforgiving on social media 

'I was definitely a little bit flustered,' Schumacher told Dailymail.com afterwards.

'That spoke to my inability to answer questions on CO2, but I wasn't too red in the face.'

But Kennedy had not finished with the young skier grilling him on other issues he had weighed in on including a 2020 retweet claiming the 'war on drugs' was intentionally created to incarcerate black people en-masse'.

'Who intentionally created the 'war on drugs' to put black people in jail?' Kennedy demanded.

Schumacher said he did not remember the tweet, adding: 'I'm here as an athlete giving you my story of what I've seen in my field.'

The senator then asked about a tweet calling for the police to 'abolished' and replaced with a new service.

'You think we ought to abolish the police?' Kennedy asked. 'Should we do that before or after we get rid of fossil fuels?'

'I'm not going to address that,' the skier replied.

'At first I was nervous,' Schumacher explained afterwards, 'I was just trying to diffuse it and then I was just, look, this is silly it's a distraction.

'On reflection I retweeted these things during the time around George Floyd's killing and the unrest and that high emotion around that time, it was especially a show of support for the black community.

'I don't know, maybe the police shouldn't be abolished.'

As the exchange went viral some observers questioned how he could have 'witnessed firsthand the profound alterations to our natural landscapes' he claimed in his 23 years.

'I'm not an expert but I care about it, I have lived with it, what I hear from my parents and what I have experienced as a young child I trust those experiences,' he said.

'And overwhelmingly the evidence is that we are living in an unstable time and things are different.'

And he admitted he was surprised not to be challenged over skiing's impact on the environment.

'That's what we thought a Republican senator could go for, it's pretty obvious,' he said.

'I have to fly to Europe for training and it's something I've struggled with, but a lot of people fly for their jobs and I'm only going to be able to compete at this level for a short time, and I think pushing for systemic change is the right thing to do.'

And the young skier appeared unfazed about his mauling at the hands of the veteran senator

Schumacher said he does not regret his appearance before the panel last Wednesday despite the thousands of abusive messages he has since received online.

He says he will continue to campaign on the issue and says his family and friends have been 'entirely supportive' about his effort.

'A lot of the people I know and care about have been encouraging about how I handled it, not being super flustered and keeping cool was something they appreciated,' he added.

'It's a hard position to be in.'