Trump 'wide open' on Paris climate accord: Mattis
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis says President Trump is 'wide open' on whether the U.S. will stay in the Paris climate accord.
SEE ALSO: After summits with Trump, Merkel says Europe must take fate into own hands
Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Mattis said the president is weighing the pros and cons of the deal.
But Axios news outlet reported on Saturday, citing three sources with direct knowledge, that President Trump has told "confidants," including the head of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt, that he plans to leave the landmark international agreement on climate change.
On Saturday, Trump said in a Twitter post he would make a decision on whether to support the Paris climate deal next week.
The summit of G7 wealthy nations pitted Trump against the leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues, with European diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they had hoped were long settled.
Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax, came under concerted pressure from the other leaders to honor the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions.
Although he tweeted that he would make a decision next week, his apparent reluctance to embrace the first legally binding global climate deal that was signed by 195 countries clearly annoyed German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying," she told reporters. "There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not."
