TPM - Marshall's view - "Paris Decision Was Driven By the Presidents Rage and Fear"

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/paris-was-driven-by-the-president-rage-and-fear

By JOSH MARSHALL Published JUNE 1, 2017 7:34 PM

Let me expand on what I said below about President Trump’s climate decision being driven by emotion and rage.

A friend wrote in and said: Wait, you don’t think this was about the battle between Trump’s “nationalist” and “globalist” advisors, his need to feed his core voters and stuff like that? You think it was driven by a spat with Merkel?

Yes, of course, it was those things. But the decision was driven by contingent events and emotion. Here is what I mean.

I told someone today that if you’d asked me on November 9th, I would have been shocked that it took Trump this long to pull out of the Paris accord. He ran on doing so and talked about it constantly. But he also talked about moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem. He railed against Goldman Sachs. He said he was going to build a ridiculous wall along the US Mexico border. He did and said a million other things that he promptly forgot about or came up with some excuse for not doing.

snip

last important paragraphs

In any case, this is about wanting to lash out at enemies, strike a blow in a context in which people can’t easily fight back and try to assert control over a situation that increasingly feels (and is) out of control. Rewrite the last four weeks, leave Trump less angry and threatened, I’m confident the US would still be in the Paris accord. That’s how he operates.

The entire outcome was driven by the President’s current, besieged, emotional state.

[dhol82]

1. That's kind of scary

What will he do in the next four weeks?
Only going to get worse.

[Else You Are Mad]

4. Iran nuclear agreement.

Someone else pointed it out here on DU (sorry I forget who) but I think that the Iran Nuclear Agreement is the next Obama accomplishment that Trump will be withdrawing from.

[dhol82]

6. Shit!

He really does want to blow up the world.

[WhiteTara]

2. I agree that it's due to anger

but I think that he is directing all this toward Barack Obama. He and the Turtle want to erase him from history. I think it is very deep racism and at some point we are really going to have to address the deep racism vein that runs through the country.

[GusBob]

3. Krugman said something similar, it was out of spite

I dunno, my question is: how does Putin fit in ?

My feeling this is all about profits for the 1%

[herding cats]

10. Putin just wants to weaken the Western alliance.

He's a very happy man right now, I assure you. He's gotten all he hoped for and more from Trump.

[bresue]

5. And now Dump will be jealous and furious after Macron's speech to the world!

Macron is young, good looking,a world leader...all that Dump is not!

[dhol82]

7. Yup, I worry about what he will want to do to France.

Will we be going back to freedom fries?

[Samantha]

12. He will only be angry about Macron's speech until he hears Jerry Brown's speech

If you missed this, you really need to try to access the speech tomorrow and what you will hear will surprise but thrill you. Nothing will change for California on the subject of climate change. It will continue on the same path it has been on. California has the sixth largest economy in the world. Brown has been speaking with other contacts who feel the same as he. He is leaving for China tomorrow to meet with officials there to negotiate a continued participation in the Paris agreement which allows Americans who so desire to continue to participate with that agreement.

I just heard Kerry's remarks. Trump is not going to like those either....


Sam

[bresue]

14. Joe in the Morning today

They are speculating that this is another distraction tactic Dump is using to turn attention away from Russia.

In addition, Joe stated that he was pretty sure that Bannon had been the WH leaker of Jared Kushner, to sideline him before the Paris accord...so he could assert his agenda.

Not mentioning as total truth, but a possibility.

[frazzled]

8. Well, given the universal negative reaction to this move

I can only assume he's only going to get angrier and more enraged. Which scares the living bejeezus out of me.

What did he think this incredibly damaging decision would do? Make people suddenly start cheering him? He's seriously demented. And dangerous.

[BootinUp]

9. It's as good a guess as any.

[herding cats]

11. This fits in with my theories on Trump.

K&R.

[moondust]

13. Undoing Obama.

Last edited Fri Jun 2, 2017, 01:27 AM - Edit history (1)

A visceral (racist) hatred of Obama may explain much of his behavior and his attempts to undo virtually every last thing Obama accomplished. Basically a continuation of the past eight years of GOP hatred and obstructionism.

[Gothmog]

15. trump is an unstable person