President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that “something could happen with respect to the Paris accord” as he discusses the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Yeah, I mean, something could happen with respect to the Paris accord. We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters at a joint news conference with Macron in Paris. “But we will talk about that over the coming period of time. And if it happens, that will be wonderful, and if it doesn’t, that will be OK too. But we’ll see what happens.”
Trump, whose announcement that he intended to withdraw the United States from the global climate agreement prompted the rebuke of Macron and other world leaders, did not elaborate on whether he meant he was willing to change his own position or whether he expected Macron to budge.
European leaders have signaled that they are not willing to renegotiate the pact, to which more than 190 countries have agreed since 2015.
Macron responded to Trump’s announcement about abandoning the agreement by delivering a speech in English in which he proposed that the world “make our planet great again.” He also invited American scientists to move to France.
Trump said he and Macron “briefly hit on the Paris accord” in their conversations so far on Thursday. Trump is in Paris at Macron’s invitation ahead of the Bastille Day holiday on Friday.
“We have a very good relationship, a good friendship, and we look forward to dinner tonight at the Eiffel Tower,” Trump said. “That will be something special.”