Sean Spicer, Scott Pruitt say they haven't discussed Trump's views on climate change with him
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Friday said they haven't discussed the president's views on climate change with him -- despite intense national and international focus on the Paris accord in recent days and Mr. Trump's announcement Thursday that the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris accord.
"I have not had an opportunity to have that discussion," Spicer -- who was also asked about the president's climate change views earlier in the week and had no answer -- said during Friday's White House press briefing.
Pruitt -- who has generally been skeptical of climate change -- dodged multiple questions from reporters on the president's views, saying the "extent" of his discussions with the president entailed whether the Paris agreement was fair to the United States.
"That is something that the president focused upon, with respect to how it impacted us economically, and whether there were good environmental objectives that were achieved as a result of Paris," Pruitt told reporters. "His decision was no, and that was the extent of our discussions."
Pruitt, who couldn't cite specific scientific research suggesting climate change isn't real, also said the "world applauded" when the U.S. entered the Paris agreement in 2015 because other nations knew the agreement would "shackle" the U.S. economy.
Asked about his own views on climate change, Pruitt said human activity may contribute a small amount to climate change, but "climate exaggerators" have overwhelmed the scientific debate.
Mr. Trump, who campaigned on backing out of the Paris agreement, has been highly skeptical of climate change in the past.
In November 2012, he tweeted that the Chinese made up climate change to hamper America's economy.
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012
Mr. Trump's speech Thursday announcing the U.S. exit from the Paris accord didn't address the merits of combating climate change, only the damaging economic effects -- however accurate -- of the Paris deal for the U.S.