John Kerry speaks with the media after a Mideast peace conference in Paris on Jan. 15.
Throughout the interview, Kerry repeatedly criticized Trump for the decision, saying the president “unilaterally ceded global leadership on this issue” that had bipartisan consensus in the past. He even pointed out that his successor at the State Department, Rex Tillerson, also wanted to keep the United States in the agreement. “I mean, what does Donald Trump know that Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, doesn’t know?” he asked.
Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, made the Sunday talk show rounds to defend the White House decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement. Speaking on Meet the Press, Pruitt denied that the move was political. “It was right for this country, Chuck. This is a decision that was right for this country from a jobs perspective, an economy perspective and an environmental perspective,” Pruitt said. “It was not a political decision.” In the interviews, Pruitt continued to refuse to answer whether Trump believes climate change is a hoax.