Trump’s Unesco withdrawal is part of a broader assault on democracy | Liesl Gerntholtz and Julie Trebault

The US exit from the cultural heritage organization is no surprise. But it's not too late to fight back

Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States a second time from what is essentially the beacon of global culture and heritage - Unesco - is depressing but unsurprising given the administration's lack of respect for art and culture that celebrates the diversity of humanity in all of its fullness. But it is still a grave error of moral leadership that harms the United States' global standing on free expression, human rights and democracy.

Earlier this year, he initiated a takeover of the Kennedy Center's programming and content, and linked National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants to highly partisan ideological conditions. Meanwhile, the government's attempts at censorship in schools are all but rewriting American history.