Donald Trump Pulls Out Of Paris Climate Accord In Ironically Set Rose Garden Ceremony

President Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign promise on the Paris climate accord, announcing that “pulling out” was getting his final rose in a ceremony appropriately held at the White House Rose Garden.

“In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord,” Trump announced today. The Paris deal was just “the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the advantage of other countries” and “a massive redistribution of United States wealth to other countries,” and “less about the climate and more about other countries gaining financial advantage over the United States.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Trump beamed as the invited Rose Garden gathering applauded in approval. He said he will “re-negotiate” the Paris pact, or an “entirely new transaction, on terms fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers.”

“So, we’re getting out, but will start to negotiate and see if we can make a deal that’s fair and if we can that’s great – and if we can’t, that’s fine,” Trump said.

“As president, I can put no other consideration before the well-being of American citizens,” the president said.

“I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris. I promised to exit or renegotiate any deal which fails to serve America’s interest.”

The mayor of Pittsburgh tweeted in response while Trump was still speaking: “I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris agreement for our people, our economy and our future.” Pittsburgh voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Trump somewhat facetiously called upon the “obstructionists” of the Democratic Party to “get together with me” to either “renegotiate our way back into Paris on terms that are fair to the United States and its workers, or negotiate a new deal that protects our country and its taxpayers.”

Trump had done a great job of creating much will-he-won’t-he suspense for Thursday’s big reveal, in the finest reality-TV tradition:

Candidate Trump, who had tweeted that global warming was a hoax being perpetrated by the Chinese, had blasted the international agreement as being a drain on the country’s economy and particularly its energy industry, and vowed to exit the agreement in his first 100 days in office.

Trump’s move puts the U.S. in company with Syria and Nicaragua, the only other only countries to reject the agreement signed by nearly 200 countries to cut carbon emissions.

In today’s announcement, Trump did not mention the Chinese hoax and did not deny that climate change is happening. But he did insist former President Barack Obama had negotiated poorly in the deal, which would curtail job growth.

“The Paris Accord is a BAD deal for Americans, and the President’s action today is keeping his campaign promise to put American workers first,” Team Trump had said in talking points distributed to congressional staffers and conservative groups in advance of Trump’s presser. “The Accord was negotiated poorly by the Obama Administration and signed out of desperation.”

Related stories

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Won't Say If Donald Trump Still Thinks Climate Change A Hoax

Kathy Griffin Reveals Death Threats & Secret Service Probe, Says Trump "Broke Me"

Jimmy Kimmel Reveals Who's Behind Donald Trump Paris Accord Pullout

Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter