My take is that Trump needs to rally his troupes and uses the Paris Accord as his rallying cry to sustain the storm called Russia going his way.
Bellow are my highlights.
VP Pence’s introduction and EPA’s Director Pruitt’s extroduction were nothing but superlative-filled praises of our Dear and Magnetic Premier Leader Massimo Donaldo El Trumpo that we typically expect from banana republics.
Trump’s exposé was nothing short of a one hour long self-aggrandizement. He laid out so few reasons for his decision to leave the Paris Accord that the hour long talk could have been completed in five-to-ten minutes. How did he fill the time? He repeated the same talking points again and again and again, and each time he added a not-so-subliminal “I am your savior” statement such as “I represent Pittsburg and not Paris” or “… but with me, no more”.
Finally, there is no need to leave the accord except if you want to show off. Indeed, in this accord the objectives are non-binding and the ways to reach them are fully at the discretion of the countries. So, no sovereignty issues there. The fact is that Trump’s America had already decided to set the objectives to none and tasked the EPA director, sir Pruitt, to reach them.
It was just a sales pitch, and it may cost America a lot of credibility on the international scene.