US President Donald Trump stuck to his election campaign promise to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate change agreement, despite the barrage of criticism he received from world leaders and pundits around the globe.
In a speech announcing the withdrawal (and potential renegotiation), the president said that the decision was made in order to “fulfil my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens”. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell subsequently hailed Trump “for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration’s assault on domestic energy production and jobs”.
The U.S. now joins Syria and Nicaragua in being the only countries to reject the deal. With the country now at odds with the rest of the world on such a key issue, the diplomatic fallout is likely to be damaging. For a president focused on putting America first, though, this is unlikely to concern Trump for the time being.
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