White House Refuses To Say If Trump Believes In Climate Change At Press Briefing

WASHINGTON, DC — The White House refused to say whether President Trump believes in climate change Friday, even when asked multiple times by reporters at a press briefing. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer spoke along with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and both dodged questions about what many feel is a central issue in the president's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord.

Pruitt called the president "courageous" for his announcement on Thursday, saying it reflected the administration's priority to put Americans' interests first. He called the Paris accord "a failed deal to begin with."(For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Asked directly whether or not the president believes in climate change, Pruitt refused to answer. Another reporter asked the question, and Pruitt still refused to answer, though he said he was answering the question by talking about the merits of the climate deal.

Spicer said he has not had the opportunity to talk to the president about this issue, so he also could not answer. He did not answer a question about whether or not the people deserve an answer about whether the president believes in climate change. Asked whether he'll ask Trump about the issue, Spicer said he'd try. Previously, Vox has counted 115 of the president's tweets expressing skepticism about climate change.

Pruitt would say that he personally believes climate change is occurring and that human activity contributes to it, but he said he is concerned that too many people exaggerate the risks of the problem. He also said that the government is doing plenty to reduce its carbon emissions, arguing that the United States has reduced its emissions back to 1990s levels and that the government had little to do with this change. However, large portions of the reductions the United States has achieved have come from the development of fracking technologies, which were spurred by the government-backed research.

Spicer faced questions about recent reports suggesting Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Attorney General Jeff Sessions had a previously undisclosed meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign. When pressed about this issue, Spicer said, as he has noted previously, that the president's lawyers would handle all questions about the Russia investigation. Spicer had no direct answer when asked how that could be the White House's official position when the president keeps tweeting about the issue.

With former FBI Director James Comey scheduled to testify next week before the Senate on the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, reporters continue to ask the the White House about the president's feelings on the matter. Trump has previously called the investigation a "witch hunt." Spicer said that since the date for the hearing was just set, he could not say whether or not executive privilege would be invoked.

A reporter noted that the president could have simply reduced the United States' target levels for the climate deal, rather than pulling out entirely. Spicer said he Trump made the decision to withdraw because he thought it was the best decision.

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