‘Doomed the Planet': Noah, Kimmel Sound Off on Trump Leaving Paris Agreement
"It was a chance to save Mother Earth," Trevor Noah said
By Liz Lane ••
Donald Trump announced that the United States is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement.
With ample sound bites and news clips to play with, TV's late-night hosts took their chance Thursday to explain President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.
Trevor Noah was first up on "The Daily Show," not holding back on the president who "may have doomed the planet."
"We all joke about him destroying the world, but this could be it," the South Africa native said.
The U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency, emits the second-most amount of carbon dioxide in the world, behind China. Noah explained why it may not be best for America to leave the plan that united 194 other countries in a group effort to fight climate change.
"After the Earth's temperature crosses a certain threshold we may not be able to go back," Noah said. "It's like telling your girlfriend that her friend is hot. That problem is manmade and irreversible. You can never take it back."
Noah called attention to the fact that even North Korea signed the deal and that only two countries didn't: Nicaragua and Syria.
"Syria didn't sign because, I mean, they got other things on their mind," he joked. "I'm sure we can all agree that Syria gets a pass."
And while Trump argued that leaving the deal helped fulfill his promise to put America — or at least cities such as Pittsburgh — first, Noah countered that there are just some things you should leave in the past.
"You can't bring back coal jobs," he said. "It may have been big back in the day, but it's not going to work now. It's like 'Baywatch.' You can't save it. It doesn't matter who you bring."
The president also argued that the plan put America at an economic disadvantage to the rest of the world, which made other countries laugh at the U.S.
"No one was laughing at you, Donald," Noah concluded. "The other countries were cheering because it was a chance to save Mother Earth."
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Protesters make their way through the streets of London during the Women's March on Jan. 21, 2017 in London, England.
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Demonstrators make their way through the streets of London during the Women's March on Jan. 21, 2017 in London, England.
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Some 30 people joined the global Women's March from Antarctica. Linda Zunas tweeted photos of the march from the seventh continent, with demonstrators holding signs reading "Penguins March for Peace" from Paradise Bay, Antarctica, on Jan. 21, 2016.
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Demonstrators carrying banners and placards take part in a Women's March rally next to the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.
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Demonstrators make their way during the Women's March on Jan. 21, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain.
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Thousands of people march on 42nd street during the Women's March on January 21, 2017 in New York City. The Midtown Manhattan event was one of many nationwide that came a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.
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Activists hold a banner that reads "Women's March against Fascism" during the Women's March rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.
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Thousands of people march up Queen Street on Jan. 21, 2017 in Auckland, New Zealand. The marches in New Zealand were organized to show solidarity with those marching on Washington D.C. and around the world.
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A demonstrator participates in a Women's March Saturday Jan. 21, 2017 in Philadelphia.
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Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.
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Demonstrators hold placards during a protest outside the U.S. embassy in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv against President Donald Trump, mirroring worldwide demonstrations to mark his first full day in office, on Jan. 21, 2017.
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Demonstrators chant as they arrive in Trafalgar Square during the Women's March on Jan. 21, 2017 in London, England.
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Demonstrators fill the streets of downtown Los Angeles as they gather for the Women's March Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.
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Demonstrators take part in the Melbourne women's rights rally on Jan. 21, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Demonstrators make their way from the iamsterdam statue in front of the Rijksmuseum towards US Consulate during the Women's March held at Museumplein on Jan. 21, 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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A marcher holds a sign during the women's march rally in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.
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Crowds gather for The Women's March on Main covered by The IMDb Studio during The 2017 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 21, 2017 in Park City, Utah.
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A woman wearing a USA flag as her headscarf attends a rally for women's rights and freedom in solidarity with the Women's March on Washington in front of Brandenburger Tor on Jan. 21, 2017 in Berlin, Germany.
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TV and radio host Alison Mau joins thousands of people marching up Queen Street on Jan. 21, 2017 in Auckland, New Zealand. The marches in New Zealand were organized to show solidarity with those marching on Washington D.C. and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights.
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A young girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Women's March participants gathered on Jan. 21, 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand.
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Demonstrators take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration on Jan. 21, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. The marches in Australia were organized to show solidarity with those marching on Washington D.C. and around the world.
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Demonstrators participate in the March In Defense Of Women's Rights outside of the Music Farm on Jan. 21, 2017, in Columbia, South Carolina. The event was one of hundreds of rallies and marches in more than 20 different countries inspired by the Women's March in the nation's capital.
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Demonstrators join the march for women's rights in Brussels, Belgium.
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Hundreds of thousands of people assemble on the National Mall during the Women's March on Washington Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington, D.C.
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Kate Weigel, right, of Brewer, Massachusetts, cheers as participants start marching during a women's march in New York, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.
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Jennifer Beals, Chelsea Handler and Charlize Theron participates in the Women's March on Main Street Park City on Jan. 21, 2017 in Park City, Utah.
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Cher arrives for the Women's March on Washington on Independence Ave. on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington.
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Demonstrators gathered in Des Moines, Iowa, in solidarity with the hundreds of sister marches happening across the United States on Jan. 21, 2017.
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Women march from Syntagma Square to the U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece, during the Women's March against the new U.S. President Donald Trump, in Greece, Jan. 21, 2017.
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Demonstrators gather on Boston Common during the Boston Women's March for America on Jan. 21, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Protesters listen to speeches in Trafalgar Square, London, after taking part in a march to promote women's rights in the wake of the US election result on Jan. 21, 2017.
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Protesters cheer at the Women's March on Jan. 21, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Demonstrators gather in front of the U.S. embassy on Jan. 21, 2017 in Lisbon, Portugal. Simultaneous demonstrations were staged, mainly by women, in many different countries.
Jimmy Kimmel took his turn on ABC's "Jimmy Jimmel Live," first showing a clip of the president speaking with a large, red devil character superimposed in the background.
Explaining why so many big companies, such as ExxonMobil and Wal-mart, supported America's participation in the deal, he joked, "It turns out if climate change destroys human life on Earth, it could be bad for business."
Trump said he intends to negotiate a better deal. However, France, Italy and Germany issued a joint statement explaining that the climate deal cannot be renegotiated.
