It is clear that Donald Trump wants the fanfare that former President Barack Obama enjoyed with America and the world, but he knows he will never achieve that same level of popularity.
Like, ever.
So, in a very sick fashion that makes sense only to Trump, he uses his small hands to sign away all of Obama’s good policies—all to stroke his fragile ego and to shore up his racist, anti-Obama base.
This week, Trump unveiled a new policy that views the world’s oceans as ripe for business opportunities, a move that goes against Obama’s view that marine environments need maximum protection, according to NBC News.
Here’s how NBC News explains the move:
The immediate impacts of the shift are unclear. Allies applauded the change as eliminating excessive government intrusion, while environmental organizations said it continues a pattern of Trump supporting industry over long-term protections for the environment. They also questioned how much emphasis the world’s oceans would get from an administration that is yet to appoint a chief science adviser.
The difference in Obama and Trump’s views of the oceans is striking. Obama’s ocean policy, introduced in 2010, mentioned the environment more than twice as often as Trump’s new plan. And while Obama invoked the idea of “stewardship” of the sea as a precious resource eight times in his executive order, Trump did not mention that concept.
In addition to its focus on “ocean industries [that] employ millions of Americans and support a strong national economy,” Trump’s directive speaks mostly to the oceans as a resource for promoting national security, including via “domestic energy production from federal waters.”
In January, Trump moved to expand offshore drilling for oil and gas. The decision also included opening federal waters for the first time in more than 30 years.
Trump and his supporters are big-time climate change deniers, so his latest move to push against Obama’s environmental policies should surprise no one.
That said, it is still troubling that Obama vexes Trump so much that he would move to hurt the environment to feed his insecurities.
Sad.