Anyone who was paying the slightest bit of attention during the election knew this would happen if Donald Trump were elected. It was what we feared, and had hoped desperately to avoid. But here we are.
After only 134 days in office, Trump is turning the United States into an object of scorn around the world, abdicating leadership and repeatedly signaling that he intends to position this nation as a global antagonist instead.
Allying with Russia. The Muslim ban. Reinstating the Mexico City policy. Chanting "America First." Provoking and alienating our allies. Cozying up to dictators. Spilling intelligence secrets from allies. Trash-talking. Pulling out of the Paris climate accord.
That is hardly a complete list. The latest move on Paris is the worst, for a number of reasons, not least of which is because Trump's decision for this country stands to have harmful consequences for the rest of the world.
The people of the world are paying attention.
The world community has already begun to levy "sanctions" on the United States: Tourism has precipitously declined. And that was before Trump stood at a podium in the Rose Garden yesterday, glibly declaring that the U.S. doesn't give a shit about the health of the planet.
It's no wonder that Disney CEO Robert Iger joined Elon Musk in resigning from the President's Council. Iger resigned, he explains, "as a matter of principle."
Which principle is not clear, but I'm guessing it has a little something to do with the fact that Disney parks have long been major international tourist destinations and a huge chunk of Disney's profits come from international box office dollars and international sale of their products.
I saw a lot of "even corporate executives are criticizing Trump!" yesterday. Of course they are. Some of them even because they are human beings who like breathable air! All of them because they don't want to have to compete in a global marketplace where the U.S. is reviled.
Trump's rationale for pulling out of the accord was that staying in would have been bad for the economy and bad for U.S. workers. This is a lie on two fronts: 1. Greening the economy would not have been bad for U.S. workers and would create jobs. 2. Pulling out will certainly cost jobs, as disdain for American companies and products starts showing up on the bottom line of corporate ledgers.
A number of mayors across the U.S. and several state legislatures have already made very public promises to comply with the accord. I hope that cuts through the noise, and makes some difference to a global community who are wondering what this country is even fucking doing right now.
But the fact is that Trump is isolating us and making us a figure of contempt in the world. And that is going to have consequences.
Among them is not "making America great again."
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