Donald Trump said he was championing the people of Pittsburgh by leaving the Paris climate accord. But the city’s Mayor Bill Peduto did not take kindly to the shout-out.
In announcing his pullout from a deal that failed to “put America first,” the US president on Thursday cited the northeastern city saying: “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”
But Peduto took issue with Trump’s invocation of his city.
He posted in one of a feisty series of tweets that swiftly went viral:
The president’s decision to quit the 196-party accord sparked indignation at home and abroad, with former president Barack Obama saying the United States was “joining a handful of nations that reject the future.”
{{/usCountry}}The president’s decision to quit the 196-party accord sparked indignation at home and abroad, with former president Barack Obama saying the United States was “joining a handful of nations that reject the future.”
{{/usCountry}}Peduto echoed that criticism, tweeting:
Trump went on to declare: “It is time to put Youngstown, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- along with many other great locations in our country -- before Paris, France.”
But Pittsburgh is hardly a depressed post-industrial hub in need of a savior -- it has experienced a striking rebirth in recent years.
Peduto stressed that Pittsburgh was far removed from the Rust Belt cities that helped propel the Republican businessman to the White House.
“Fact: Hillary Clinton received 80% of the vote in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh stands with the world & will follow Paris Agreement,” he tweeted.