An astronaut who just returned from space trolled Trump with the Paris Agreement

Shade from 250 miles above the planet.
 By 
Miriam Kramer
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

A French astronaut who just returned to Earth after living in space for 196 days threw some subtle shade at U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a landmark international climate agreement last week.

"I took the #ParisAgreement to the ISS: from space, climate change is very real. Some could probably use the view #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain," Thomas Pesquet tweeted in French and later in English. The tweet was accompanied by a photo of the Paris Agreement itself, floating on the International Space Station (ISS) near a window pointing toward Earth.

By saying that "some could probably use the view," Pesquet appears to be subtweeting Trump and his apparent willful ignorance when it comes to climate change.

Trump has appointed a number of climate deniers to his cabinet, and at one point, he claimed that climate change was a hoax.

During his Rose Garden speech announcing his Paris Agreement decision, Trump never acknowledged the reality, let alone the seriousness, of human-caused global warming. Instead, he railed against the agreement's potential to cost American jobs, using projections which many researchers view as flawed.

Not all world leaders see it Trump's way. In fact, almost none of them do.

By withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the country will join only Nicaragua and Syria as holdouts. (To be fair, however, Nicaragua refused to sign on because the country's diplomats thought the agreement didn't go far enough in preventing climate change.)

The hashtag Pesquet used -- a play on Trump's "MAGA" slogan -- echoes a rallying cry from French President Emmanuel Macron that he used during a speech on June 1 after Trump's announcement.

"I call on you to remain confident," Macron said during the speech delivered in English. "We will succeed because we are fully committed. Because wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility, make our planet great again."

The photo attached to the tweet shows an inscription written to Pesquet from former French president François Hollande, one of the architects behind the agreement, which was signed in 2015.

Pesquet's tweet also hit upon a shift in perspective that astronauts experience during their trips to the Space Station.

Instead of seeing borders separating people, as we often do while living on the planet, flying 250 miles above Earth can lend a person a new understanding that we're all in this together.

From space, Earth's atmosphere looks like a thin strip of blue. We appear fragile.

Many astronauts spend their free time just looking down at Earth, picking out features on different continents, but from that high up, you can't see what divides us, only what unifies.

Translation help from Mashable France's Steven Jambot.

Mashable Image
Miriam Kramer

Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.

Mashable Potato

Recommended For You
NASA astronaut who had medical problem in space breaks silence
Crew-11 splashing down off the coast of San Diego, California

Who is the sick astronaut on the ISS? What we know.
NASA's Crew-11 bracing for launch to the ISS


French police raids X's Paris offices
X logo

Artemis II launches its historic moon mission: See the launch and mission details
Artemis II lifts off

More in Science
How to watch Chelsea vs. Port Vale online for free
Alejandro Garnacho of Chelsea reacts

How to watch 'Wuthering Heights' at home: Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi's controversial romance now streaming
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi embracing in still from "Wuthering Heights"

How to watch New York Islanders vs. Philadelphia Flyers online for free
Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders warms up

How to watch Mexico vs. Belgium online for free
Israel Reyes of Mexico reacts

How to watch Brazil vs. Croatia online for free
Vinicius Junior #10 of Brazil leaves

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 3, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 4, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 3, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Google launches Gemma 4, a new open-source model: How to try it
Google Gemma

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 4, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!