Trump briefly pops into U.N. climate summit after expected snub
President Donald Trump made a brief semi-surprise appearance at the United Nations climate summit in New York Monday morning, despite expectations that he would fully snub the landmark event.
He found a seat in the auditorium just as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the stage, according to pool reports. Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said she wouldn't be surprised if Trump popped into the summit, which is occurring against the backdrop of global demonstrations designed to urge action on climate change.
The summit brings together leaders from dozens of countries to submit climate plans intended to surpass the emissions reduction and renewable energy goals of the 2016 Paris Agreement, an accord from which Trump withdrew and that many of the remaining signatories are well short of fulfilling.
For days, the administration indicated Trump would skip the summit to instead give an address on religious freedom. On Sunday, Trump told reporters that his absence from the event would not be "a snub at all" and noted that he was making visits to Ohio and Houston, where there is major flooding.
"The floods are very important to me, and climate change — everything is very important," Trump said.
Trump has a history of denying links between human activity and climate change, and has rolled back environmental regulations and agreements — positions that are popular among conservative lawmakers and a rallying point for his supporters, especially on the Christian right.
The president attended the day-long summit for just 14 minutes before leaving for his religious freedom event, according to a pool report.
