How President Trump Decided to Exit the Paris Agreement

In the end, there really wasn’t much of a debate. President Trump had his mind set on pulling out of the Paris climate agreement since the campaign trail and no push by family, CEO or pope was going to sway his thinking, aides said after Trump made his thinking official Thursday. Citing some dubious statistics and and a commitment to the working class, Trump rejected the pleas of global leaders and climate advocates, saying he was elected to act in what he perceives to be the best interest of the American people, not the world. Whether his decision was the correct one will be clear enough in time, and the four-year withdrawal process ensures that the issue will be a central component of the next presidential election.

The White House maintains that Trump is serious about being open to renegotiating the agreement to make it fairer to the U.S., but officials can’t point to any specific asks of the president. European leaders are making clear that there will be no renegotiation of the landmark agreement, and China is seeing an opportunity to step up to a global leadership role. Additionally, White House officials have been ducking on the president’s personal beliefs on climate science for days.

Macron trolls Trump. Why Trump mistakenly called a shooting a terrorist attack. And Trump’s love of drama.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

Despite Paris Accord Exit, Companies Expect Little Change
Shareholder demands and state rules have already pushed firms to address climate change [Wall Street Journal]

How the Trump Administration’s Secret Efforts to Ease Russia Sanctions Fell Short
Civil servants and Congress blocked it [Yahoo]

White House Orders Agencies to Ignore Democrats’ Oversight Requests
Trump’s aides are trying to shut down the release of information that could be used to attack the president [Politico]

Trump Announces Withdrawal From Paris Agreement
TIME’s Justin Worland on the announcement

Trump Hands the Chinese a Gift: The Chance for Global Leadership
An opportunity they’ve long desired [New York Times]

Trump Tilts ‘America First’ Toward ‘America Alone’
What the Paris decision means [Associated Press]

Trump Adviser Cohn Open to Concessions on U.S. Debt Ceiling
Breaking with Mnuchin [Bloomberg]

Sound Off

“I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris” — The key sentence of President Donald Trump’s speech announcing the Paris withdrawal

“Make Our Planet Great Again” — French President Emmanuel Macron speaking after President Trump announced the U.S. would begin withdrawing from the Paris climate accord

Bits and Bites

White House adviser: Trump to decide whether to block Comey testimony [Reuters]

Kellyanne Conway Declines to Say If President Trump Thinks Climate Change Is a Hoax [TIME]

Trump admin appeals travel ban case to Supreme Court [CNN]

Putin to Megyn Kelly: ‘Your underage daughter’ could hack an election [NBC]

Fact Check: Holes in Trump’s reasoning on climate pullout [Associated Press]

President Trump Called the Philippines Violence a Terror Attack. Local Police Say Otherwise [TIME]

France, Germany and Italy to President Trump: Paris Climate Agreement Can’t Be Renegotiated [Associated Press]

White House eyes Bannon ally for top broadcasting post [Politico]

Barack Obama Responds to President Trump’s Withdrawal From Paris Climate Deal [TIME]

MIT Researchers Say Trump Misunderstood the Research He Used to Justify His Paris Agreement Exit [TIME]

French President Emmanuel Macron Trolls Donald Trump: ‘Make Our Planet Great Again’ [TIME]

For President Trump, decisions accompanied by drama [Associated Press]

James O’Keefe’s Targets Sue Undercover Filmmaker for $1 Million [TIME]