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The Paris Agreement, N Korea Tensions and a UN Address: The President's Busy Week

Amber C. Strong : Sep 18, 2017
CBN News

"Our position on the Paris agreement has not changed. @POTUS has been clear, US withdrawing unless we get pro-America terms." -Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders

(Washington)—[CBN News] Should we stay or should we go? (Photo: President Trump's official portrait/ via WhiteHouse.gov)

There were mixed reports over the weekend about whether or not President Trump would go back on his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.

In June, Trump said the US would be withdrawing from the multi-country, climate change initiative unless they could negotiate a better deal for the US.

"So we're getting out, but we will start to negotiate, and we'll see if we can make a deal that's fair," the president said.

But a report from The Wall Street Journal Saturday said several officials at a global warming summit indicated the White House would not pull out of the Paris agreement, and would reconsider how it could take part in it.

European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete said the US was seeking to "review the terms on which they could be engaged under this agreement."

The White House refuted the story.

"There has been no change in the United States' position on the Paris agreement. As the President has made abundantly clear, the United States is withdrawing unless we can re-enter on terms that are more favorable to our country," the White House said in a statement.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders doubled down on Twitter.

"Our position on the Paris agreement has not changed. @POTUS has been clear, US withdrawing unless we get pro-America terms."

"The president is going to follow through on his promise," former Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski told Fox News.

The Paris Climate Agreement was a commitment between nearly 200 nations to cut back on greenhouse emission and combat climate change. Critics of the US contribution to the agreement say it is an economic nightmare and a potential job killer.

UN Address

All of this comes ahead of the president's first speech to the United Nations in New York, Tuesday.

It might be a tough audience, considering many of those nations are part of the Paris Agreement.

Climate change aside, the president is expected to ask the UN to put more pressure on North Korea.

Last week, the UN approved a round of sanctions for North Korea for continuing its missile program.

"I don't know if it has any impact, but certainly it was nice to get a 15-to-nothing vote. But those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen," said Trump.

The White House said the president and President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea spoke about the "steps to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities and to maximize economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea.

Taking to Twitter the president said:

"I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!"

Trump has been critical of the UN in the past, particularly what his administration calls an unfair bias against Israel.

He will reportedly meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York as well.