CLIMATE CHANGE: “Since before there was a United States, Americans have had a love affair with Paris. President Donald Trump, who will leave for the French capital on Wednesday [7-12-17], does not share that affection.
Few cities have been the subject of Trump’s derision and mockery like Paris. He has painted the city as a dystopian land of terror attacks with radicalized neighborhoods, a city ‘so, so, so out of control, so dangerous,’ as he declared in June 2016.
He also has held it up as a symbol of a global system that takes advantage of the United States and its workers, proudly proclaiming he represents ‘Pittsburgh, not Paris’ as he pulled the U.S. from a global climate deal.
The feeling appears to be mutual. Just 14 percent of people in France have confidence that Trump will ‘do the right thing regarding world affairs’ according to the Pew Research Center, down from more than 75 percent who had confidence in former President Barack Obama. George W. Bush’s numbers were similarly low by the end of his presidency.
Now, Trump heads to the city he says lives ‘in fear,’ where he will meet Thursday with a young and dynamic new president, Emmanuel Macron, who has made his unwillingness to be cowed by Trump abundantly clear.”
-Matthew Nussbaum, “Paris, much maligned by Trump, set to welcome him,” Politico, July 12, 2017 05:15am