On Saturday, the world’s economic powers, with the exception of the U.S., affirmed their commitment to the Paris climate agreement and pledged to work together to tackle challenges in areas ranging from trade and terrorism to migration.
President Trump left the annual meeting of the G-20 without committing the U.S. to those shared goals. “We take note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris agreement,” the G-20 leaders wrote in a statement issued on Saturday. “The leaders of the other G-20 members state that the Paris agreement is irreversible.”
What did we learn about @realDonaldTrump at this #G20? @CUhlmann explains. #Insiders pic.twitter.com/TGOXdiFWhB
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) July 8, 2017
America may still have its military might and economic might, but influence comes from leadership. “Most presidents understand this intuitively,” Derek Chollet and Julie Smith noted on Friday in Foreign Policy. Most presidents includes presidents of both parties.
Of course, we are told the whole point of Trump is to deride the establishment, at home and abroad. By that measure, he has succeeded. But by any measure, we live in a many-sided world. And that’s not fake news.