The United States Needs to Stay Part of International Organizations: Drew Holm

 It is important for the United States to work with the United Nations and other international organizations. The previous president of the United States acted independently from the international community by pulling the United States out of multiple international agreements like the Paris Climate Accord, the World Health Organization.

Donald Trump did more to harm the United States’ standing with the international community than Bush. First, even though the US is one of the world’s largest emitters of carbon dioxide, his administration chose to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord. This decision placed the United States in unfortunate company, as we were one of the few states in the world not committed to solving the greatest threat to the world, climate change. Trump pulled out of the accord because he thought that it was harming the United States. However, by doing this, he hurt both the US and the rest of the world, as the United States government was no longer committed to combating climate change, something that endangers many parts of the US. By leaving the Climate Accord, the former president put our allies in an uncomfortable position. When the United States left the agreement, it forced our allies to choose between the US and the rest of the world, risking alienation from either group. Thankfully, no close allies left the agreement, which would have further weakened it. Leaving the climate accord did harm the interests of the globe further than just the US not working on reducing emissions, as it made countries like China question whether they should continue to be involved in the accord, as it would make more economic sense in the short run for China to ignore climate change. China did not leave the Paris Climate Accord, but the United States actions around climate under Trump may have impacted President Xi’s decision to not attend the climate summit in Glasgow happening at the end of this week. 

Another example of Donald Trump attempting to act in the interests of the United States at the expense of the rest of the world is when he authorized pulling out of the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic. Trump believed that the WHO was under Chinese influence, and decided that it was in the United States’ best interest to leave the United Nations organization. Had the United States gone through with its withdrawal, then the World Health Organization would have been without its largest donor, severely limiting its ability to help fight the current pandemic, and future health crises. This would not only harm the rest of the world, but it would also hurt the United States, as a united global front against international health issues is the best way to provide better healthcare around the world, and work to prevent future pandemics. The decision to leave the World Health Organization is ironic because if the United States had pulled their funding for the organization it would have given China more influence over the organization.

Throughout his presidency, the former president chose to do what he thought was good for the United States at the expense of the rest of the world. These actions create friction between the United States and the rest of the world. They demonstrate that the United States is not willing to make any sacrifices in order to help both the rest of the world, and its future self. That unwillingness forces US allies like the EU or Britain to decide how close they should be working with the United States, weakening their and the US’s international standing.