President Trump Could Rejoin Paris Climate Accord: McMaster

WASHINGTON, DC — Despite President Trump's forceful announcement in June that the United States would pull out of the Paris Climate Accord, the White House could remain in the pact "if there’s an agreement that benefits the American people," one of Trump's top aides said Sunday.

When announcing the decision, which was globally criticized, Trump said, "I cannot in good conscience support a deal that punishes the United States. I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris."

But Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, appearing on ABC's "This Week," told a different story. (For more national political news, sign up for the free White House Patch email newsletter.)

“What the president has said is that we are withdrawing from the Paris Accord," McMaster told host George Stephanopoulos. "He left the door open to re-entering at some later time if there can be a better deal for the United States.

“The president’s objection to Paris is not that he’s against the environment or the climate. What the president wants is a more effective approach to energy and the climate.”

Read also: Trump On Climate Accord: 'I Was Elected To Represent The Citizens Of Pittsburgh, Not Paris'

McMaster's comments are in line with The Wall Street Journal's reporting Saturday that the government would offer to renegotiate the terms of the agreement, according to multiple officials at a global warming summit in Montreal.

However, the White House said in a statement Saturday that "there has been no change in the U.S.'s position on the Paris agreement."

“As the president has made abundantly clear, the U.S. is withdrawing unless we can re-enter on terms that are more favorable to our country,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said in the statement.

Watch Stephanopoulos' interview with McMaster below, and read the transcripthere.

Follow us on Twitter.