This past week, President Trump made headlines by announcing his intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. "The rest of the world applauded when we signed the Paris Agreement," he stated. "They went wild. They were so happy for the simple reason that it put our country, the United States of America, which we all love, at a very, very big economic disadvantage." Former President Barrack Obama had pledged to lower America's emissions by 26 percent by the year 2025. The move to withdraw from the Paris Agreement has been applauded by a small yet vocal segment of Trump's supporter base, which relies on coal for their livelihoods. However, coal and factory jobs are not being lost due to an increase in Earth-friendly policies. They are being lost due to machines and often to natural gas as well.

By pulling out of the Paris Agreement, Trump has made a symbolic move towards this subset of his supporters but has not made any functional changes to their plight. Simultaneously, withdrawing from the Paris Agreement has been widely regarded as a step downward for the United States' standing in the world. David Brooks, on an interview with NPR, states, "he did it specifically to thumb - stick his middle finger in the eye of every other world leader. And you can't be the leader of the world and do that. And so I think it'll do irreparable damage to America's role in the world..." It will take a total of two years to officially withdraw from the Agreement, yet a number of major names in American business have already declared their intent to continue the fight against global warming regardless of the President's decision. Facebook (FB  ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Trump's decision bad for the environment, the economy, and the next generation. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla (TSLA  ), quit his position as a White House advisor in the wake of the decision, asserting that it, "is not good for America or the world."

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Regarding the current investigations about ties between the Trump administration and Russia, opinions are divided on the benefit of how "leaky" the current administration is. Some claim that it is in the public's best interest, whereas others consider it a threat to national security. The rate of sensitive information reaching the public is certainly accelerating. Robert Deitz, a veteran of the CIA and National Security Agency (who worked under former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) deemed the Trump administration the "leakiest...in recent memory, no doubt." Members of the intelligence community are traditionally opposed to leaks on principle. However, Trump has openly criticized both the FBI and the CIA. "These are not normal times," said Glenn Carle, a former spy and CIA veteran. According to Carle, leaks to the public about Trump's relationship with Russia are, "acts of profound patriotism in defense of the republic." It remains to be seen just how Trump's strained relationship with his intelligence community will affect the ongoing investigations into his administration.