'Make Our Planet Great Again,' And Other Responses To U.S. Exit From Climate Deal

After President Trump announced that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the international agreement to fight climate change, the responses were immediate — from denunciation to celebration.

And some reactions were particularly pointed — and personal.

French President Emmanuel Macron gave an address, in English, in which he riffed on Trump's campaign slogan.

"Make our planet great again," Macron said, calling the decision to leave the agreement a mistake and inviting scientists in the U.S. to "come and work here with us" on efforts to combat climate change.

And in case you didn't want to watch the video ... he doubled down.

Meanwhile, Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered a video of his own.

"One man can't go back in time. Only I can do that," Schwarzenegger said, as former Terminator.

"Local and state governments will rise up," he said, as former governor of California — pointing out that his state passed strict environmental rules and then experienced economic growth.

Schwarzenegger addressed Trump directly and told him, "We remember the great leaders. The great leaders that don't walk backward into the past but ... charge forward into the future."

And the Democratic mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, had some thoughts about Trump mentioning his city in announcing the decision on the accord.

"I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," Trump said Thursday.

"Fact: Hillary Clinton received 80% of the vote in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh stands with the world & will follow Paris Agreement," Peduto tweeted.

Trump carried Pennsylvania, but Pittsburgh itself was an island of blue in a sea of red.

Astronaut Mark Kelly provided his sense of perspective.

And Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, sent a tweet about the issue that was unremarkable in its wording. And he's hardly the only major corporate figure to express support for the accord.

But the message raised eyebrows anyway ... because Blankfein has been on Twitter for six years, but had nevertweeted before.

Meanwhile, many Trump supporters and conservative commentators expressed amusement (or delight) at the intensity of the reaction against Trump's decision.

And several noted that celebrities and executives, many of whom spoke up to criticize the president's decision, often lead jetsetter lifestyles — which are conspicuously carbon-heavy.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.