President Donald Trump should kick the Paris climate agreement over to the Senate for a treaty discussion and decision because it impacts American lives, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said Thursday.
"There should be a treaty discussion on it," Ruddy told ABC "Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos, noting that 22 senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, favor pulling out. "There should be modifications."
Ruddy, an ABC News Contributor, noted that he has lived in Europe and pointed out that people there don't drive as much as they do in the United States.
"To reduce your carbon emission footprint on your car by 26 percent by the year 2025, it will cost the auto industry here billions and billions of dollars and cost American consumers during that period, so we should look at the impact," Ruddy said.
He added that the Paris accord does not call on China to reduce its carbon footprint until 2030, and he wants to know why the U.S. should have to make its changes five years sooner.
Trump is slated to announce his decision on the accord Thursday afternoon.
Wednesday, Axios, citing inside sources, said the decision had already been made to abandon the agreement, and that details on how the withdrawal will be made are still being worked out by a team that includes EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
Ruddy also discussed reports of divisions in the White House, and disagreed with Stephanopoulos' statement that Trump is "isolated and frustrated" and not happy with his staff.
"Let's go over the president's mood," Ruddy said. "I'm hearing he's in a good, positive mood. He came back from Europe, put the NATO allies on notice, [telling them] 'Hey, you can't be underspending us by a third to two-thirds in defense spending.'"
Trump also had great meetings in Israel and in the Arab world, Ruddy said.
It is normal to have divisions in the White House, Ruddy added, and he thinks there will be "a couple of major changes, two or three changes in the next two to three months. I don't think it will be a wholesale shake-up but that's good. I think it's also normal."
Trump was not a politician when he was elected, Ruddy noted, adding that the president is still learning what really works and who his key people should be.
"I think the changes will be good and I think it'll be positive," the Newsmax CEO said.
Ruddy said he believes Trump "has to get a handle" on his use of Twitter, although he called Trump's tweets "very good."
"I predicted it would take about six months for those tweets to come under more of a disciplined review process," said Ruddy. "The president is a guy that likes to speak his mind. This is how he made his whole career. I think it's his personality."
At the same time, the president is "no longer really Donald Trump. He's the head of state. He represents the American people."
Ruddy said Trump should keep tweeting, but needs to establish a review process with two or three people looking at them. He also said he believes the president should not be talking about matters under criminal investigation.
"These tweets coming out at midnight are not helping his popularity and his standing with the press and the public," said Ruddy.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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