"Playing to his base" is only a euphemism for succumbing to imbecility.
First there was this:
And now this from the Times, which is scarcely surprising:
Trump is expected to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, three officials with knowledge of the decision said, making good on a campaign pledge but severely weakening the landmark 2015 climate change accord that committed nearly every nation to take action to curb the warming of the planet….
The exit of the United States, the world’s largest economy and second-largest greenhouse gas polluter would not dissolve the 195-nation pact, [but would make it] "far more likely that we will breach the danger limit of 3.6 degrees," [said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton]. That is the average atmospheric temperature increase above which a future of extreme conditions is considered irrevocable. "We will see more extreme heat, damaging storms, coastal flooding and risks to food security"….
"From a foreign policy perspective, it’s a colossal mistake — an abdication of American leadership," said R. Nicholas Burns, a retired career diplomat and the under secretary of state during the presidency of George W. Bush. "The success of our foreign policy — in trade, military, any other kind of negotiation — depends on our credibility. I can’t think of anything more destructive to our credibility than this," he added.
Trump is the "colossal mistake" and hunched, Neanderthal-walking destruction of U.S. credibility, and he reconfirms both every day.