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- Senator Ted Cruz criticized President Biden with a comparison that may have missed the mark.
- He said Biden’s return to the Paris climate agreement showed he cared more about Paris than Pittsburgh.
- Pittsburgh is actually doing well on climate goals, although Cruz recently challenged his election results.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz kicked off Joe Biden’s fledgling presidency by attacking his decision to join the Paris agreement on climate change – though his choice of metaphor missed the mark.
Biden, who was sworn in on Wednesday, issued more than a dozen executive orders, including returning the Paris climate agreement to cut emissions. The United States is the second largest producer of carbon emissions, after China.
Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump withdrew from the deal early in his term.
Cruz said in a statement that the return of the agreement would result in a lasting loss of jobs in the United States, and that “by signing this order, President Biden indicates that he is more interested in the opinions of the citizens of Paris than to the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh. “
“Joining the Paris Climate Agreement will have little effect on the climate, and will hurt the livelihoods of ordinary Americans across the country,” said Cruz.
While France is one of the 195 signatories of the Paris agreements, the agreement is an international agreement that is not specifically designed to please or benefit Parisians.
The 2015 agreement was signed by world leaders in Paris. Likewise, the Geneva Conventions on Armed Conflict and its treaties originate in Geneva, Switzerland, but involve countries around the world.
As for Pittsburgh, the city seems comfortable with targeting carbon emissions. It has exceeded its commitment to the Paris Accords and has already achieved its 2030 target of 100% renewable energy for city operations, according to the Democratic mayor of Pittsburgh. Bill Peduto.
Trump’s initial withdrawal from the deal angered Mayor Peduto, as well as Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris, prompting them to write an opinion column announcing “that we are more united than ever.”
“As mayor of Pittsburgh, I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris. As mayor of Paris, I was elected to represent the citizens of Paris, not Pittsburgh,” the column said. .
“But the only way to do well for Pittsburghers and Parisians is to abide by the principles of the Paris Agreement, which guarantees the future health and prosperity of our two cities – and of every other city in the world,” said wrote the two mayors.
Peduto, who criticized the Trump presidency, also noted that Cruz was among the minority group of Republican lawmakers who formally opposed the results of the 2020 US presidential election – an objection that attempted to deny Pennsylvanian voters their rights. , according to the mayor.
But Pittsburgh is part of Allegheny County, where the majority of its residents voted for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020,
Some Republican lawmakers went on to oppose the presidential race constituency vote count, raising debunked theories about widespread voter fraud and giving credence to conspiracy theories that have been repeatedly rejected by federal judges.
The objections and comments raised by Republicans like Cruz have been key in fueling the discontent that paved the way for the deadly Jan.6 riots on Capitol Hill, Democratic lawmakers say.
“Are you kidding me? Here we go, again …” Peduto said on Twitter.
Cruz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
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