Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) cast President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement as the president telling the Earth to “drop dead.”
Schumer posted a mock newspaper page on Twitter that said “Trump to Earth: Drop Dead,” shortly after Trump’s formal announcement. The mockup also featured the headlines: “U.S. No Longer a Leader,” “Even Big CEOs Blast Trump” and “Global Temperatures Continue Rising.”
Schumer said in a formal statement that Trump’s decision is a “devastating failure of historic proportions.”
“Pulling out of the Paris agreement doesn’t put America first, it puts America last in recognizing science, in being a world leader and protecting our shore line, our economy and our planet,” he said.
Trump announced Thursday afternoon that he’s pulling the United States out of the 195-nation Paris climate change agreement.
“In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord,” Trump said in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.
“The bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States,” Trump said.
Schumer’s tweet is a call-back to a famous 1975 New York Daily News front page that blared the headline: “Ford to city: Drop dead” after President Gerald Ford denied New York City’s request for a bailout.