The United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, President Donald Trump announced from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, capping an Apprentice-like internal struggle between the nationalist and the globalist factions of White House aides.

Trump cited the “draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement poses on our country” and his “solemn duty to protect America and its citizens” as his reasoning for triggering the U.S. exit from the deal.

The U.S. will “begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or an entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States,” Trump added. “We’re getting out, but we’re starting to negotiate to see if we can get a deal that’s fair. If we can, that’s great. If we can’t, that’s fine.”

As Trump prepared to take the podium, chief White House strategist Steve Bannon, the man credited with keeping Trump on a path to Paris withdrawal, stood in the shade with a coterie of senior staff, surveying the scene. For Bannon, the United States’ exit from the deal wasn’t just a policy victory, it was personal vindication.