The president has announced his separation, Duterte-style, from the Paris Accord. America joins Nicaragua and Syria as the only countries on Earth to not ratify the Paris Accord.

Most people in the U.S. support this treaty. I presume it’s because most people care about their children and want them to have a decent future. Politically withdrawing from such a popular agreement is right up there with repealing the Affordable Care Act – it’s suicidal.

So why do it? Is it because the president likes to keep campaign promises? Unlikely. Shortly after winning the election, President-elect Trump was holding a “campaign-style” rally, and when the familiar chant of “Lock Her Up” began, he told the crowd “That was before. That was so we could get votes.” Doesn’t sound to me like a person who’s serious about keeping promises.

So why take the risk and pull out of the accord now, an agreement supported by virtually every person on the planet? I think Nate Silver and his fellow statisticians at fivethirtyeight.com are sitting on the answer. According to polls they reviewed, Trump’s base of hardcore supporters has dropped by one-third – from 30 percent of the population to 20 percent in just four short months.

So, I think I know what’s going on. Trump is signaling to his fleeing base that he’s serious about keeping his most ridiculous campaign promises. It’s a dangerous move by a weak and desperate man, and the whole country will pay the price of this impulsive egomaniac and his band of mass-polluting climate-change deniers.

How we react to this attack on our basic livelihood will go a long way in determining what sort of planet we leave for our children.

– Steven Hofer