Fear - Trump in the White House
Bob Woodward
Contributed by Larisa Brooke
Chapter 23
Summary

Trump wants to withdraw from the Paris Accord on climate change. It seems like Priebus is in support. However, it is clear that Ivanka wants the President to remain in the unbinding international agreement considering that she makes all possible efforts to convince him to stay (Woodward 164). She and Kushner even manage to plant the seeds of distrust between Trump and Steve Bannon. Scott Pruitt, the EPA administrator comes to the White House. Porter notices that Pruitt’s presence eluded the regular schedule. He confirms his suspicions when he sees Bannon in the Oval Office. Pruitt’s intention is to convince the President to exit the Paris Accord. Bannon is there to offer reasons that the country should remain with its allies (Woodward 165). Gary Cohn calls for a meeting in the Situation Room. The main agenda of the meeting is to discuss the Paris Accord. Cohn has put together two possible options with one involving an exit and the other entailing that the US remains but puts a hold on financial commitments and contributions. Tillerson enlightens those present that the deal cannot allow the US to exit before November 2019 (Woodward 166). Despite the issues, they all seem to agree on exiting the deal. Porter presents Trump with a drafted speech that he should present to the American public. However, with Trumps insistence all along to exit the agreement, he changes the speech, altering the language and makes it appear stronger, claiming that he is being true to his base (Woodward 167).

Analysis

Environmental protection is a significant approach to achieving a positive climatic change. Trump supports the protection of the environment, but he is also a leader with commitments and promises to deliver to his people. The idea of dumping the Paris Accord is political and financially directed. For starters, Trump had promised the public in his campaign that he would ensure the successful exit of the US. Apart from that, the financial commitment pledged by Obama seems to harm the US economy, and conversely Trump’s approach is realistic and relevant. On the other hand, Ivanka supports remaining in the Accord mainly due to her personal views. The point is that she has no commitment or promises to deliver to the public. In addition, she is not considerate of the harm caused by the Accord especially in terms of finances.

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