Washington: The day after President Donald Trump announced that the United States will exit the Paris climate deal, Kellyanne Conway appeared on ABC News' Good Morning America and was asked this question: Does the president still believe global warming is a hoax?

Here's how Conway, a counsellor to the president, responded: "The president believes in a clean environment, clean air, clean water. He has received awards as a businessman, in that regard." (The Washington Post's fact-checkers have yet to find any evidence of those awards.)

When ABC's George Stephanopoulos pressed Conway to answer the question, she responded: "You need to ask him that, and I hope that you have your chance."

As Trump's aides explain his decision to leave the agreement – despite protests from members of his own administration, environmental experts, corporate titans and fellow foreign leaders – they have danced around the issue that is at its heart: climate change.

Trump has long been skeptical of climate change, despite vast scientific evidence showing that human activity has contributed to the problem, and has repeatedly suggested that it is a "hoax."

A Vox analysis found that Trump has tweeted such skepticism at least 115 times since 2011, describing global warming as "mythical," "nonexistent," "fictional," an "expensive hoax" and "bulls---."

"The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive," Trump wrote in a November 2012 tweet.

And whenever New York was hit with a cold spell or snowstorm, Trump would often tweet a joke about global warming. In October 2015, when Trump was the front-runner for the Republican nomination, he tweeted: "It's really cold outside, they are calling it a major freeze, weeks ahead of normal. Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!"

It's unclear if the president has changed his position on climate change, with many of his aides insisting this week that they do not know their boss' position on a key issue that's at the heart of a deal the administration wants to exit.

At the White House briefing on Tuesday, a reporter asked press secretary Sean Spicer if the president believes that human activity is contributing to the warming of the climate.

"I can't say. I haven't asked him. I can get back to you," Spicer said.

When the reporter pressed, Spicer added: "I don't know. I honestly haven't asked him that specific question."

In the Rose Garden on Thursday, Trump and members of his administration pitched the decision to leave the Paris agreement as an economic one and did not dwell on the environmental implications.

"We're going to have the cleanest air. We're going to have the cleanest water," Trump said at one point. "We will be environmentally friendly but we're not going to put our businesses out of work, we're not going to lose our jobs."

After the president's speech, the White House arranged a briefing for reporters with two officials, but insisted that neither be named in reports.

The two officials peppered reporters with reasons the Paris agreement would hurt US industry but were unable to answer environment-related questions. When asked if the president has a long-term strategy for combating climate change, the two officials debated who should answer, with one murmuring to the other: "You go."

Another reporter asked the unnamed duo if the president believes that human activity contributes to climate change.

"So I think that – I mean, the fact that the president in his speech today said that he wants to come back and renegotiate a better deal for the United States and for the world I think pretty much speaks for itself," one of the officials said.

The reporter followed up: "So is that a yes?"

"Again, I think – I think that speaks for itself," the official said.

Asked a third time, the official said: "Whether he – you know, I have not talked to the president about his personal views on whether ... I was not with the president on his trip. I have not talked to the president about his personal views on what is contributing to climate change. That's not the point."

The official then added, with a tinge of annoyance: "Can we stay on topic, please?"

Washington Post