Ted Cruz Can’t Avoid Controversy: Why The Texas Senator Is Still Trending

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is facing calls to resign after accusing President Biden of caring more for the people in France than the people in Pittsburgh by rejoining the Paris climate agreement.

Just hours after taking the oath of office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that puts the nation’s signature back on the Paris climate accord, a multilateral agreement abandoned by the former president. That did not sit well with Cruz, a Texas Republican and ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump.

“By rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, President Biden indicates he’s more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh,” he said from his Twitter account. “This agreement will do little to affect the climate and will harm the livelihoods of Americans.”

The multilateral climate agreement was signed in the French capital in 2016. Its aim is to keep climate change under control. Commenting on Trump’s decision to leave the agreement, analysts at the Council on Foreign Relations said it not only undercut global climate initiatives but ceded authority to China, the second-largest polluter behind the United States.

Apart from ridiculing the senator for believing the Paris climate agreement was about France, Cruz faced facts from the mayor of Pittsburgh himself, Bill Peduto.

The Patriot-News, a Pennsylvania newspaper, noted the reaction was overwhelmingly negative from the natives of the state. Pittsburgh, the court of public opinion said, is serious about tackling climate change. Their list included a comment from Jackie Kucinich, the Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast, noting that Cruz is actually borrowing a line from former President Trump.

In explaining his decision to leave the multilateral climate accord, Trump said in 2017 that he was “elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”

The Lincoln Project, a group led by Republicans opposing the former president, offered a one-word response to Cruz; resign.

Cruz was accused of having blood on his hands for his tacit support of supporters of Trump, who stormed the Capitol building Jan. 6 as lawmakers certified the results in the Electoral College confirming Biden's presidency. Though many Republicans abandoned plans to challenge the results after the chamber reconvened after the Captiol grounds were cleared, Cruz joined Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

Running a piece on the mounting calls to resign amid the backlash for the Senator’s tacit support for the unrest at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, the Dallas Morning News showed Cruz fighting back.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.