4 ms·

Clickbait. This is why people don't trust the media. Relevant quote (by Branson): “With climate change, it’s America first and our beautiful globe last, and th

Clickbait. This is why people don't trust the media. Relevant quote (by Branson): “With climate change, it’s America first and our beautiful globe last, and that seems incredibly sad, I’ve got a feeling that the president is regretting what he did. Maybe his children and son in law [adviser Jared Kushner] are saying, ‘Look, I told you so.’ Hopefully there is a positive change of mind.” So, he's speculating that Trump is regretting the decision because it is "strange" to him. If he actually read the Paris Agreement and watched what Trump had to say about not signing it, he wouldn't find it very strange. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deTcuNgKN-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deTcuNgKN-E

eesmith 9y ago
This is all about Trump's recent comment in France that "Something could happen with respect to the Paris accord. We'll see what happens. ... If it happens that will be wonderful. If it doesn't that will be okay too." The standard Trump technique is to be ambiguous and agree with both sides of an argument. That lets everyone interpret the statements with their own biases. If you think that the Paris Accord is important, then this is a sign that Trump is changing his mind. If you think the US should pull out of the Paris Accord then this is a sign that he's going to require major changes in order to stay in. As another example, he says he 'can live with' either a one-state or a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine. The US policy has, for decades, been that there must be a two state solution. Whereas Trump "likes the [solution] that both parties like." As a third example, he accepted a phone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen after nearly 40 years of no direct contact between U.S. and Taiwanese leaders and said that the one China was "up for negotiation". He backed down once China protested, and said he would honor the "one China" policy.
- anotherbrownguy 9y ago
  That sentiment from Trump is not "recent". I quote this from the video I linked (which was when they withdrew from the Paris Accord): "I’m willing to immediately work with Democratic leaders to either negotiate our way back into Paris, under the terms that are fair to the United States and its workers, or to negotiate a new deal that protects our country and its taxpayers."
  - eesmith 9y ago
    But Branson's comment appears to be a direct consequence of Trump's recent statements, and not early statements by Trump. I'll quote from Bloomberg at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-16/trump-may-seek-solution-on-climate-change-macron-tells-jdd https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-16/trump-may... : 'In June, Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 Paris deal and earlier this month Washington was the only member of the Group of 20 nations that didn’t agree that the accord on cutting harmful emissions was “irreversible.” Trump softened his position at a press conference on Thursday with Macron, saying, “something could happen with respect to the Paris accord. We’ll see what happens. We’ll talk about that over the coming period of time. If it happens, that’ll be wonderful, and if it doesn’t, that’ll be OK too.”' I've noted the point where I think Branson and others appear to see some hint of regret or change of mind on the side of Trump. I personally believe they are looking at tea leaves (or the color of Alan Greenspan's tie, for a more historically political reference), but wanted to point out that it's due to recent tea leaves, hence in the news.

eesmith 9y ago

This is all about Trump's recent comment in France that "Something could happen with respect to the Paris accord. We'll see what happens. ... If it happens that will be wonderful. If it doesn't that will be okay too." The standard Trump technique is to be ambiguous and agree with both sides of an argument. That lets everyone interpret the statements with their own biases. If you think that the Paris Accord is important, then this is a sign that Trump is changing his mind. If you think the US should pull out of the Paris Accord then this is a sign that he's going to require major changes in order to stay in. As another example, he says he 'can live with' either a one-state or a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine. The US policy has, for decades, been that there must be a two state solution. Whereas Trump "likes the [solution] that both parties like." As a third example, he accepted a phone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen after nearly 40 years of no direct contact between U.S. and Taiwanese leaders and said that the one China was "up for negotiation". He backed down once China protested, and said he would honor the "one China" policy.

anotherbrownguy 9y ago
That sentiment from Trump is not "recent". I quote this from the video I linked (which was when they withdrew from the Paris Accord): "I’m willing to immediately work with Democratic leaders to either negotiate our way back into Paris, under the terms that are fair to the United States and its workers, or to negotiate a new deal that protects our country and its taxpayers."
- eesmith 9y ago
  But Branson's comment appears to be a direct consequence of Trump's recent statements, and not early statements by Trump. I'll quote from Bloomberg at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-16/trump-may-seek-solution-on-climate-change-macron-tells-jdd https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-16/trump-may... : 'In June, Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 Paris deal and earlier this month Washington was the only member of the Group of 20 nations that didn’t agree that the accord on cutting harmful emissions was “irreversible.” Trump softened his position at a press conference on Thursday with Macron, saying, “something could happen with respect to the Paris accord. We’ll see what happens. We’ll talk about that over the coming period of time. If it happens, that’ll be wonderful, and if it doesn’t, that’ll be OK too.”' I've noted the point where I think Branson and others appear to see some hint of regret or change of mind on the side of Trump. I personally believe they are looking at tea leaves (or the color of Alan Greenspan's tie, for a more historically political reference), but wanted to point out that it's due to recent tea leaves, hence in the news.