Break out the sad trombone for climate change-denying Rep. Doug LaMalfa.

The California Republican on Wednesday tried to mock Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with a joke denying climate change.

“Climate change is real, and we’ve got to do something about it,” Buttigieg told LaMalfa during a discussion about carbon emissions and electric cars.

“Yeah, this one’s called autumn,” LaMalfa snarked in response.

But the gag fell spectacularly flat when Buttigieg couldn’t hear LaMalfa’s line.

Buttigieg asked LaMalfa to repeat himself not once but twice during a House Transportation and Infrastructure committee hearing.

And by the time the punchline landed, it had lost all of its impact.

Buttigieg then fired back: “Yes, that’s the seasons changing, which, respectively, is not the same thing as the climate changing.”

The exchange is a comedy masterclass, in what not to do:

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