The climate in Washington is changing

Recent developments seem to indicate that the situation in Donald Trump’s White House in Washington, D.C. is worsening. The decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement has fomented division among Trump’s close allies, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner firmly disagreeing with chief political strategist Steve Bannon, Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt and White House Counsel Don McGahn who strongly pushed for the US exit.

This development has certainly eroded the way nations look at the US because it is the only major country that has rejected the agreement that aims to cut carbon emissions and protect the world against global warming. By withdrawing from the historic Paris accord, the United States has joined the ranks of Syria and Nicaragua – the only two countries that declined to sign the agreement in 2015.

Tesla founder Elon Musk also made good on his promise to quit Trump’s business advisory council, tweeting, “Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world” – his sentiments echoed by top business executives like General Electric chairman Jeff Immelt who said “Industry must now lead and not depend on government,” and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who posted, “Withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement is bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and it puts our children’s future at risk.”

Many Americans are definitely outraged, saying Trump just gave China a golden opportunity to take on the global leadership role that America has traditionally played. Global leaders are certainly disappointed, to put it mildly, with Angela Merkel’s comments very telling when she said that “the times when we could completely rely on others are, to an extent, over… We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands.”

As symbolic actions go, Merkel was with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (who was visiting Berlin) who quickly seized the opportunity, responding: “We are both ready to contribute to stability in the world.”

In rejecting the climate deal, Trump said he was reasserting American sovereignty, preventing the loss of millions of jobs and saving billions of dollars that would have gone to the global fund and wound America’s economy in the process. “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” Trump declared.

Ironically, Pittsburgh has repudiated Trump’s decision, with its mayor reminding the US president that 80 percent of the city’s voters chose Hillary Clinton. Several states have also shown defiance, among them Washington, New York and California whose governor Jerry Brown called the decision “an insane move by this president,” even asserting they would have their own climate change deal with China.

Even President Rodrigo Duterte was “man enough” to change his mind about climate change when its far-reaching effects were explained to him. Let’s not forget – super typhoon Yolanda killed over 7,000 people, and many of the survivors are still suffering until this very day.

Trump’s decision “reeks of ignorance and condemns US foreign policy into infamy,” railed Senator Loren Legarda. But despite the US withdrawal, other nations will continue to find ways to mitigate climate change especially because “for vulnerable countries like the Philippines, this is a matter of survival,” the environment champion added.

Our associates in Washington who are closely watching developments hinted that Trump’s climate change decision is going to be disastrous, and that he may not even be able to finish his term because “the climate in Washington is rapidly changing,” what with the Russia issue still simmering.

The US president regards climate change as a hoax, but the Pentagon considers it a critical threat to national security. As Defense Secretary James Mattis clearly said during his confirmation hearing, “Climate change can be a driver of instability and the Department of Defense must pay attention to potential adverse impacts generated by this phenomenon.”

Murmurings from Trump’s own Republican Party mates are also getting louder, recognizing the growing disenchantment among many Americans who are wondering where America is headed 54 years since the death of John F. Kennedy who would have turned 100 last May 29 – coinciding with the commemoration of Memorial Day (see photos in the Allure section of the Philippine STAR today).

Many who remember JFK – a man I admire and idolize – note the glaring contrast with Trump today. This was underscored by the video message of Caroline Kennedy and her children that paid tribute to JFK whose life was cut tragically short by an assassin’s bullet. Caroline – who is definitely not a fan of Trump – talked about the vision and legacy of her father who evoked such pride, respect and admiration from many all over the world.

But it was JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg who delivered what must be a damning blow to Trump when he said in the JFK tribute: “My generation will inherit a complicated world, with countless, unsolved problems. Climate change is just one of them… but it’s the type of challenge that he would have been energized about… and could have solved… He recognized that only if America leads the world in solving global problems, can we make sure that it’s done right.”

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What happened at Resorts World is a tragedy that must be giving my friend Andrew a nightmare considering the number of people who perished. My information is that the fault squarely lies with the security agency and the hotel management. There are unconfirmed reports claiming locked exit doors caused many to suffocate to death. The tragic incident should be a lesson and a wakeup call to other establishments to tighten security and review their protocols when such crisis situations occur.

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