Paris climate deal: what's a POTUS to do?

A European Union official claims the U.S. will not withdraw from the ridiculously useless Paris climate deal, in spite of President Trump saying publicly in June that we will, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

But what do Trump "band-wagoners" care? They don't care a hoot about policy decisions unless they're about the culture wars: immigration, the wall, Christian bakers, etc. So if Trump changes his tune on the Paris deal, he will still have his base of supporters. 

Like he once said at a rally in Sioux Center, Iowa during his presidential campaign:

"I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters."

That's the scary side of Trump, but you can understand why people support him come hell or high water (literally, of late). He says things people would say themselves in his position because nobody in that position has ever done so before.

When the WSJ's piece came out, the White House quickly responded with a statement saying that while it would not withdraw from the climate treaty [as Trump originally promised] it would review its terms.

Photo: Politico

"There has been no change in the United States' position on the Paris agreement. As the President has made abundantly clear, the United States is withdrawing unless we can re-enter on terms that are more favorable to our country," the White House statement read.

I blogged about the deal back in June, when Trump made it clear that he was more interested in Pittsburgh than the deal. I wrote in part:

Candidate Trump promised to "cancel" the Paris climate deal during his first major policy speech on energy in March 2016. He attacked "draconian climate rules" and vowed to cut any funding for UN programs related to combatting any climate change programs. He even refused to acknowledge the human contribution to climate change and called it a "hoax." But when pressed on that comment he later said that he was "kidding."

Trump's shift from rejection his willingness to renegotiate the deal came during a meeting with over 30 ministers led by Canada, China and others. 

So now we wait and see if Trump will tell us he was only "kidding" regarding what he said about rejecting the Paris deal. It's anybody's guess.


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