President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement Thursday, delivering a blow to worldwide environmentalists, major European powers — and daughter Ivanka.
In the process, Trump also revealed that his controversial chief strategist, Steve Bannon, who appeared to have fallen out of favor in recent months, has regained some of his once-immense clout.
Ivanka Trump, a presidential adviser, had fought to keep in the United States in the agreement, leading a faction thought to include Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
But just two months after Trump downplayed Bannon’s role and declined to express his confidence in him, Bannon appeared to be back on top. Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, were nowhere to be seen Thursday when the president declared that he was pulling out of the Paris accord for the “well being of American citizens”
“This isn’t what they wanted,” said a former Trump adviser who remains in regular contact with White House officials said, referring to Ivanka Trump. “Not at all.”
Instead it was Bannon – the conservative former firebrand executive editor of the Breitbart website and CEO of Trump’s presidential campaign – who basked in the accolades from workers, veterans and other guests milling around the Rose Garden shaking hands and receiving back pats well after Trump had finished his speech and returned to the Oval Office.
“Clearly it shows you Steve Bannon is not going anywhere, the nationalist faction in the White House is really strong,” said a second former adviser who remains in regular contact with White House officials but did not want to speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the issue. “You can tell he has come back in orbit. He’s back on his footing.”
The person said this decision was about Trump keeping a campaign promise on the same day he was breaking one, at least temporarily – a pledge to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Trump had repeatedly pledged during the campaign to back out or renegotiate the climate deal, but appeared to waver on the promise once taking office as top advisers wrestled over what to do.
The Paris pact obligates the United States – the world’s second largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gasses – to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 percent by 2025, compared to 2005 levels. The aim of the pact is to prevent global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, a level that scientists say could cause irreversible, catastrophic effects.
The pact, which went into force in November 2016, is considered the world's most comprehensive plan to date for fighting climate change.