"Only Trump could decarbonize the world."

The metaphor is often expressed as the observation "Only Nixon could go to China" or "It took Nixon to go to China".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_goes_to_China

Nixon goes to China - Wikipedia

@isotopp Da fehlt die B-Seite. Wäre jemand anders nach China gegangen, hätte Nixon vor wenig zurückgeschreckt. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21768668
The Lyndon Johnson tapes: Richard Nixon's 'treason'

A Radio 4 documentary, based on declassified tapes of President Lyndon Johnson's telephone calls provide an extraordinary insight into his world.

BBC News