Why Can’t the United States Do What Mexico Just Did?

There are two main answers to this excellent question.

First and most obviously, about half of the U.S. electorate supports Donald Trump as our next president.  At a minimum, that means anti-intellectualism and the rejection of science in policymaking. This applies especially to environmentalism; in particular, these voters believe that climate change is a hoax, that climate scientists are bilking taxpayers, and that efforts in this space are engineered to weaken U.S. capitalism.

Secondly, by virtue of the popularity of Trump/MAGA, the Democrats have to be careful not to go too far to the left.  There is essentially zero demand for a candidate like Elizabeth Warren, Chris Murphy, Jeff Merkley, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, or any other progressive.