Letter: Trump forfeiting global leadership

The president is out of step with the world.

What president would deliberately snub our allies in the name of America first? Surely forfeiting global leadership among 200 other countries who have signed on to this Paris accord - China and Russia included - is shortsighted and ignorant.

Many European leaders have commented that they feel that President Donald Trump does not understand the fine print in this agreement. Fortunately, the contract cannot be unraveled instantly and, in fact, most big companies lobbied in favor of keeping our position on the recognition of climate change and the necessity of taking steps right now - not in 20 years time.

The president quoted that he was doing this on behalf of those in Pittsburgh (a big cement town), but it is patently clear that those residents want clean air, food and water just as the rest of the world does. People want jobs and many of the jobs of the future are to be found in clean energy not in closed coal mines.

China leads the world in producing solar panels and their lead will increase. We will be America the sidelined.

Sonia Ettinger

Iowa City