By David MacDonald P resident Trump was arguably under more of a micro- scope than any of his living predecessors during his first foreign trip in May and he gave his critics in the media and political foes alike plenty to talk about. The sword dance, the curtsy, the Saudi arms deal – which was, in essence, a sign of solidarity between significant aspects of his foreign policy and President Obama’s – Melania’s hand swat, and to wrap-up the trip, shoving Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic at the May 25 NATO meeting in Brussels. Needless to say, he made Stephen Colbert’s job a lot easier in May. But even if the shove seen ‘round the world was as PM Markovic called it – an “inoffensive situation” – it symbol- ically set the stage for President Trump’s big league – and expected – announcement hours after his homecoming. His decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal – an extension of the administration’s “America first” policy – has been largely condemned by the corporate juggernauts
of Wall Street and beyond. General Electric, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Tesla, and a host of major companies have all openly condemned the move. Elon Musk – the brains and brawn behind Tesla and SpaceX – and Disney’s CEO Robert Iger have gone as far as to quit their advisory roles to President Trump’s White House councils in protest. Even Exxon Mobil and Chevron had pressured the presi- dent to honour the Paris Agreement that was drafted in late 2015 and signed by then-president Obama. The coal industry largely applauded the president’s pledge to withdraw from the beginning. Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray said that “In following through on his promise, Pres- ident Trump is supporting America’s uncompromising values, saving coal jobs, and promoting low- cost, reliable electricity for Americans and the rest of the World,” accord- ing to the BBC.
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JUNE 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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