President Obama was quick to react to President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement Thursday afternoon.
President Obama was quick to react to President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement Thursday afternoon.
Trump, Obama said in a statement, ‘joins a small handful of nations that reject the future.’
‘I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we got, ‘ Obama said.
The former president was joined by celebrities and fellow politicians, including his former rival, the 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, in condemnation of the decision, which Trump made Thursday from the White House Rose Garden.
‘Affirmation of the #ParisAgreement is not only about the climate: It is also about America remaining the global leader, ‘ Romney tweeted Wednesday evening as it looked more and more likely that Trump was going to pull out.
After threatening Wednesday to quit the White House councils he serves on over a Paris exit, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted Thursday that he was done with Trump.
‘Am departing presidential councils, ‘ he wrote. ‘Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.’
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio tweeted at the president mid-day Thursday saying, ‘I hope you’ll make the moral decision today to protect future generations, ‘ he wrote, using the hashtags #ParisAgreement and #ClimateChange.
But at the White House Thursday Trump trumpeted the unfairness of the deal and said his decision to leave the accord was a campaign promise he wanted to make good on for his base.
‘The Paris Agreement handicaps the United States economy in order to win praise from the very foreign capitals and global activists that have long sought to gain wealth at our country’s expense, ‘ Trump said.
‘They don’t put America first. I do and I always will, ‘ he added.
Obama countered this by saying that the nations that remain in the Paris Agreement ‘will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created.’
‘I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack, ‘ Obama said.
Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden, had tweeted his support of the Paris Agreement Wednesday night.
‘Climate change is an existential threat to our future – staying in #ParisAgreement is the best way to protect our children & global leadership, ‘ Biden said.
Sen. Al Franken’s three grandchildren – Joe, Jacob and Avery – were at the top of his mind when he argued that the U. S. should stay in.
‘I want my grandkids to know that when we faced threat of climate change and had the chance to put earth on a safer path, we didn’ t blow it, ‘ Franken tweeted. ‘If @POTUS backs out of #ParisAgreement, he’s not simply ignoring scientific consensus—he’s putting our children and grandchildren at risk.
After the decision was announced, Franken took to Twitter again to call the decision a ‘catastrophic mistake.’
‘We don’t have time to bury our heads in the sand, ‘ Franken said.
