When Donald Trump decided to pull the United States from the Paris climate accord, his decision resulted in massive backlash from the political left, including the majority of the scientific community. While the president has faced harsh criticism, former Secretary of State John Kerry had a unique take on the matter.
Kerry on Trump
Even before Donald Trump announced his campaign for president back in June 2015, he had expressed his skepticism about climate change. The most notable example came in the form of tweet back in 2011 when the former host of "The Apprentice" accused China of creating global warming as a "hoax" to control the market place.
Once he kicked of his candidacy, Trump put his climate change denial in full gear as he appealed to those on the far right of the political spectrum who often deny scientific evidence at every turn if it conflicts with their pre-conceived notions and partisan agenda. Since being sworn into office, Trump has created further controversy on the issue of global warming, which only increased after he nominated climate change denier Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA. Though Trump and his team won't comment on whether or not the president still believes climate change is a hoax, he appeared to take drastic steps by pulling the United States from the Paris climate accord last week. As seen during the June 4 edition of "Meet the Press" on NBC, John Kerry was not impressed.
John Kerry: When Trump says he'll negotiate better climate deal, it's “like OJ Simpson saying he’s gonna go out & find the real killer” #MTP pic.twitter.com/hz5cV6qeC0
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 4, 2017
Joining "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd on Sunday was John Kerry, who didn't hold back his thoughts about Donald Trump and the decision to remove the United States from the aforementioned Paris deal.
"If you truly understand the science. If you have done your homework, there is no way way you can not conclude that there is an urgency in doing something and that you would not pull out of Paris," Kerry said.
While Pres. Trump has power to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, technically it can't take effect until 2020 https://t.co/GQQKr0RJPs pic.twitter.com/mtTz7zB6JD
— ABC News (@ABC) June 3, 2017
John Kerry continued to hammer Donald Trump, turning his attention to the president's comment about claiming he will try to go out and "find a better deal." "When Donald Trump says to the world, 'well, we're gonna negotiate a better deal,' that's like O.J.
Simpson saying he's gonna go out and find the real killer," Kerry said.
Moving forward
With the United States now out of the Paris deal, joining only Syria and Nicaragua in backing out, it's unknown what the next steps will be for the country moving forward on the list. Though it's unlikely that Trump will make a move on global warming, it's expected that critics will continue to hold his feet to the fire.