In what was basically a Trump rally in the White House Rose Garden, the president announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. In something of a surprise, Trump said he was prepared to renegotiate the terms of the accord. In no surprise, the leaders of Germany, France and Italy said there’d be no renegotiation. Via The New York Times.
If Trump does, in fact, withdraw from the Paris agreement, it won’t just be a rejection of a climate plan, but also of America’s role in the post-World War II global era. Via The New Yorker.
Jim Tankersley: Fulfilling a campaign promise to withdraw from the Paris accord would be breaking a promise to our kids while punishing the poor across the world. Via Vox.
The so-called adults in the room pen a significant piece in The Wall Street Journal saying that the Trump White House does not see the world as a “global community,” but as a place where nations and nongovernmental entities “compete for advantage.” Via The Atlantic.
As the Trump-Russia story seems to get bigger and bigger every day and Trump’s role or non-role in the whole affair becomes less and less clear, the question of the day seems to be whether Trump is the “Manchurian” president. Ross Douthat asks at The New York Times. And Jennifer Rubin asks at The Washington Post whether a spy would act any differently.
It’s more than 200 days since the election, and yet it’s still Trump v. Clinton, at least on the Twitter. If only we had a poll to tell us which one is winning. Covfefe? Via Politico.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren announces the start of something called the Devos Watch to monitor how the education secretary is administering student loans. As you might guess, Warren isn’t pleased with how she’s doing so far. It’s time, Warren writes for CNN, to start holding DeVos accountable.
Others need watching, too. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), speaking about Trump’s proposal to make vast cuts in food stamps, refused to answer whether Americans are entitled to eat . Dana Milbank, via Washington Post.
Thousands of pages of documents and psychiatric assessments of mass murderer Dylann Roof have been unsealed, and now the question is whether Roof was actually competent to stand trial. Via The New York Times.
Before you laugh at Tiger Woods’ latest misfortune, read this piece by Kevin Williamson on schmucks like us and on how many of us would pass the Iverson test. Via The National Review.
Flickr photo by Crysis Rubel
