Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott refused to acknowledge that climate change is driving the historic flooding that has inundated the biggest cities in his state over the last several days.

“We constantly focus on the issues such as extreme weather and we want to, we want to be prepared for whatever type of weather may be coming our way,” Abbott said at a press conference after reporters repeatedly asked him to say the words “climate change.”

Abbott’s remarks came “a day after a “1-in-1,000-year” storm dumped up to 15 inches of rain in Dallas, triggering flash floods that submerged vehicles along a highway and left at least one person dead,” Yahoo News noted.

Abbott issued a disaster declaration in 23 counties on Tuesday afternoon.

\u201cGovernor Greg Abbott (R-TX) refuses to acknowledge the effects of climate change in Texas’ recent flooding:\n\nReporter: “Are you concerned about climate change?”\n\nAbbott: “We constantly focus on issues such as extreme weather.”\n\nReporter: “Can you even say climate change?”\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount)