world. While many world leaders and Democrats expressed outrage and disappointment, some Republicans say it will only help American workers and the U.S. economy.
The reaction from many U.S. politicians, world leaders and Hollywood elites, almost seemed like the president’s decision would lead to the end of the world. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it “…a huge mistake and future generations will look back on this day as one of the worst things that has happened in the 21st century.”
French president Emmanuel Macron spoke in English to say his country and nearly 200 others are still committed to the Paris climate agreement. “Make our planet great again!” he exclaimed. Here in the U.S. so far, 10 governors and more than 60 mayors say they plan to honor and uphold the commitments made in the 2015 Paris accord.
Still, President Trump insists the industry restrictions mandated by the climate accord would harm American workers and businesses by making them less competitive in global markets. During his presidential campaign, Trump called the Paris accord an agreement designed to harm America through a massive redistribution of wealth.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson downplayed the significance of the U.S. pullout from the Paris climate pact, arguing that the U.S. has a “terrific record” of reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions, adding that it is “something I think we can be proud of. That was done in the absence of the Paris agreement, I don’t think we’re going to change our effort to reduce our emission in the future, either. So hopefully, people can keep it in perspective.”
Many Republicans on Capitol Hill were supportive of the U.S. pull-out. Among them was House Speaker Paul Ryan who praised the presidential action. “The Paris climate agreement was simply a raw deal for America. Signed by President Obama without Senate ratification, it would have driven up the cost of energy, hitting middle-class and low-income Americans the hardest,” Ryan said.
And from the coal state of Kentucky, Republican Sen. Rand Paul tweeted: “This action by Donald Trump is great news for the economy and could save as many as 6 million U.S. jobs.”
Retired coal miner from West Virginia, Kenney Smith said it was a big day for coal. “He’s keeping his promise that he’s going to help get the coal jobs back, help people get back to work, and that’s what we need, anywhere in this country,” Smith said. “You can go to Detroit, you can go to Pennsylvania you can go to West Virginia, there’s people that have been laid off for years, they’re just forgotten.” And that may be at the heart of the president’s decision, and what many global leaders and corporate CEO’s like Tesla’s Elon Musk don’t seem to understand.
Conservative commentator Erick Erickson responded to the American left’s extreme reaction writing, “Because our signature is not there, we are doomed. We’re all going to die, according to a group of people who think you can pick your gender and life begins when a baby comes home from the hospital.”
Erickson suggested he was not surprised by the reaction to the president’s decision because since the 1960’s, leftwing activists have presented gloom and doom scenarios about climate and overpopulation and have advanced a belief that humanity is a blight on a pure planet. In his blog The Resurgent, Erickson suggested many of those outraged by Trump’s decision possess a spirituality that differs from the beliefs held by most conservative Christians.
“The fatalism of a secular left with no belief in God has turned to a finite belief in an earth where humanity itself is original sin.” He writes, “The truth is we are all going to die. But it won’t be because of global warming. I have read the end of the book. There will be famine. There will be drought. There will be flood. And there will be war. Then there will be a last day where we stand before our Maker and are called to account.”
“Worrying about global warming and social justice won’t get you past the pearly gates. Saving souls will. But it is hard to save souls when you don’t believe in the God of creation because you are too busy worshipping that creation.”
Publishers Note: Despite recent attempts to paint the United States as a major global polluter, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. is among the cleanest nations on the planet. In the most recent WHO report on air pollution, the United States was listed as one of the countries with the cleanest air in the world, significantly cleaner in fact than the air in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the UK, Japan, Austria and France. While France and other G7 countries lamented the U.S. exit from the Paris climate accord, America’s air is already cleaner than that of any other country in the G7.