California Governor Jerry Brown

Republic of California vs. U.S.A.

California Governor Jerry Brown

Sacramento, Calif. (CNN) – California is defying President Trump. Even though the United States is pulling out of the Paris accord, California is moving forward signing agreements in the fight against climate change.

“We’re not opposing for the sake of opposition,” said California Governor Jerry Brown. “I’m opposing to uphold the truth.”

The truth–says California’s governor–is what drives his opposition to President Trump.

Jerry Brown, the head of the most vocal state resisting Pres. Trump, now calling open season on the White House withdrawal of the Paris accord.

The governor is continuing cooperation in a climate deal with the German government.

The German Environment Minister is in San Francisco instead of Washington.

That comes fresh off a week-long trip in China, where Governor Brown signed green technology agreements, expanded climate deals and met with President Xi Jinping in what could be mistaken for a visit by a foreign head of state.

Reporter Kyung Lah asked Gov. Brown, “You’re the governor of a state. The president of this country has directed our policy to go another way.”

Gov. Brown replied, “Well, we’re in a very unusual, unprecedented situation in America. We’ve never had a president like Donald Trump. In effect, he stands against the world and he won’t be able to stand I don’t think much longer.”

Since President Trump’s election, California has been ground zero for the opposition.

The overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature working on a flurry of laws from one that makes the entire state a sanctuary for immigrants to proposing its own single payer health care system.

That led President Trump to say, “California in many ways is out of control.”

President Trump, unable to ignore the state’s rebellion, pledged to pull federal funds from California if the state doesn’t fall in line. “If we have to, we’ll defund,” he said.

Attorney General of California Xavier Becerra said, “If you don’t get in our way, no problems. You wanna get in our way? That’s where I come in.”

A.G. Becerra, the top cop in the state, was brought in by Governor Brown in part because of his two decades in Washington as a Congressman, now spending much of his time in his new job filing lawsuits defending California’s path away from Washington.

“California is a forward leaning state,” said Becerra. “And it’s worked. We’re prepared to resist any effort to diminish the rights of the people of the State of California.”

California’s leaders are leveraging their state’s economic heft. In the last seven years, the world’s sixth largest economy created more jobs than most other states.

“One state can by getting other states to follow and getting other countries to join in this coalition,” said Gov. Brown. “Yes, if we were isolated, California all by itself, no, we couldn’t have impact. But we’re not isolated.”

A battle cry as California leads in the fight ahead.

California is one of 13 states that the U.S. Climate Alliance says is pledging to follow the Paris accord.

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