WASHINGTON: As US President Donald Trump announced America鈥檚 withdrawal from a global climate change pact, infuriating allies far and wide, the man charged with defending the decision to the world kept his distance.
Having quietly lobbied Trump to stay in the pact, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was a few blocks away at the State Department, where America鈥檚 diplomats were bracing for a flood of protests from overseas.
The European Council鈥檚 leader called Trump鈥檚 decision a 鈥渂ig mistake.鈥� The typically understated German Chancellor Angela Merkel deemed it 鈥渆xtremely regrettable 鈥� and that鈥檚 putting it very mildly.鈥� French President Emmanuel Macron trolled Trump鈥檚 campaign motto, saying all nations share a responsibility to 鈥渕ake our planet great again.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 climate reversal is the latest challenge he has presented to Tillerson, a newcomer himself to the world of diplomacy who is still working to establish his credibility as an advocate of American foreign policy. Not only did Trump appear to overrule Tillerson鈥檚 advice concerning the Paris agreement, but the decision fanned fears of the US abdicating its global leadership role and shunning international consensus on the world鈥檚 most pressing issues.
Tillerson was not the only Cabinet member to skip the Rose Garden ceremony where Trump announced his decision, but his absence was perhaps the most glaring. He met Trump only hours earlier in the White House. Tillerson鈥檚 aides maintained that he decided to follow his own schedule, which had him in his seventh-floor office on Thursday afternoon as Trump was speaking.
Aides could not say if Tillerson watched the president on television. But he will be almost surely be required to recite the rationale for Trump鈥檚 pullout from the agreement cutting carbon emissions, given that his agency led the Paris deal negotiations and will now have to manage the international fallout.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to change our ongoing efforts to reduce those emissions in the future,鈥� Tillerson said Friday, playing down the president鈥檚 decision. 鈥淪o hopefully people can keep it in perspective.鈥�
Tillerson called Trump鈥檚 action a 鈥減olicy decision.鈥� He insisted the US should be proud of its 鈥渢errific record鈥� in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, even before the Paris pact took effect late last year.
Trump鈥檚 announcement is renewing questions about the level of Tillerson鈥檚 influence on his boss鈥� mercurial foreign policy decision-making. Tillerson is the former CEO of Exxon Mobil, the world鈥檚 largest oil company and one that spent years examining climate science until grudgingly accepting the dangers of global warming. Still, his support for the Paris deal was insufficient to persuade Trump to stay in.
This weekend, Tillerson visits Australia and New Zealand. Both countries have been outspoken in their climate change concerns and support for the Paris agreement. Tillerson is sure to hear an earful about the issue in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.
鈥淭illerson鈥檚 credibility issues right now are far broader than just the Paris accord,鈥� said Cecile Shea, a retired US diplomat, now of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She said the withdrawal compounded suspicions about US leadership since Trump left the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and questioned the NATO alliance.
Tillerson鈥檚 argument to Trump was that leaving the agreement would diminish US influence in encouraging other countries to reduce their emissions, aides said. He did not argue that it would affect US efforts to reduce American emissions.
鈥淭his was not a litmus test on the reality of climate change for him,鈥� said R.C. Hammond, a senior Tillerson adviser. 鈥淗e still sees a path forward on that and we鈥檙e also going to continue to work with our friends and allies on our priorities: national security and the economy.鈥�
Tillerson said repeatedly in his confirmation hearing in January that he accepted climate change is real and believed it was important for America to 鈥渉ave a seat at the table鈥� in international discussions on the matter. Exxon, his former company, was on the record supporting the agreement and publicly encouraging Trump not to withdraw.
Still, Tillerson鈥檚 support has been quieter than that of his predecessor: John Kerry. As Obama鈥檚 top diplomat, he played a major role persuading other governments to commit to cut their own emissions, even when it created political problems for them at home.
Paris deal supporters, including Kerry, predicted Trump鈥檚 withdrawal would cause almost irreparable damage to America鈥檚 standing abroad and potentially its ability to negotiate future diplomatic agreements.
鈥淚t is a global stain on our credibility that we will spend years, if not decades, working to remove,鈥� Kerry said.
But Ronald Neumann, a former US ambassador who heads the American Academy of Diplomacy, noted Tillerson, like all secretaries of state, would occasionally lose policy battles.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it particularly weakens him,鈥� Neumann said, though he suggested a lack of clarity over the role the administration intends to play internationally could still be problematic for Tillerson鈥檚 diplomatic efforts.
Thursday was not a total loss for Tillerson. It began with Trump backtracking on a campaign pledge to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and other members of the national security team strongly advised against relocating the embassy.
Tillerson faces task of defending Trump鈥檚 decision to allies
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