President Trump’s stance on climate change is “evolving” after meeting with European leaders who are making a last-ditch attempt to get him to stay in the Paris climate accord, a top White House official said Friday.
“He feels much more knowledgeable on the topic today,” chief economic adviser Gary Cohn said at the two-day G-7 summit in Sicily, where world leaders discussed topics including trade policy, terrorism and economic growth.
“He came here to learn — he came here to get smarter,” said Cohn.
Trump talked to other leaders about the “environmental awards” he’s received — and told them the issue was “very, very important” to him, he added.
“He didn’t want anyone to think he doesn’t care about the environment.”
The 2015 Paris accord is a landmark pact meant to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom Trump spoke to on the sidelines of the summit a day after criticizing the Germans on trade, said the G-7 leaders had made “many arguments” in support of the Paris agreement.
At the end of Friday’s discussions, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said six countries confirmed “our commitment and our determination” to the Paris agreement, while the US will have “a period of reflection” on the issue.
“We are sure that after an internal reflection, the United States will also want to commit to it,” he added.
White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters that ultimately Trump would do “what’s best for the American people.”
Meanwhile, Cohn sought to clarify Trump’s comment in Brussels on Thursday that Germany is “bad.”
“He said, ‘They’re very bad on trade,’ but he doesn’t have a problem with Germany,” he said.
“He said his dad is from Germany. He said, ‘I don’t have a problem with Germany, I have a problem with German trade.’ ”
Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was the US-born son of German immigrants.