WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Vice President Al Gore expressed disappointment Sunday over his failure to persuade President Donald Trump to keep the US in the Paris climate agreement.
Gore said on CNN's "State of the Union" that Trump's decision was a threat to humanity and bad for the US position in global politics. "I think it was reckless," Gore said. "I think it was indefensible. It undermines America's standing in the world. It threatens the ability of humanity to solve the climate crisis in time."
Trump announced on Thursday his decision to initiate the nation's withdrawal from the landmark agreement of which nearly every country on earth is a member. His speech came after weeks of internal White House debate.
Trump's daughter and adviser, Ivanka, was among those who supported the US remaining in the agreement.
Gore met with both Trumps in December at Trump Tower in New York. At the time, he called their discussion "lengthy and very productive."
In his CNN interview Sunday, Gore said he had spoken with Ivanka Trump several times since that meeting but that they had not spoken since Trump's announcement.
"I thought that he would come to his senses on it, but he didn't," Gore said.
Gore also said the trend of the future would be toward clean energy and away from carbon-emitting fuels. He said there was progress happening "all over the world."
"The direction to move in the future is very clear," he said.
"We're now seeing governors and mayors and businesses and civic leaders really beginning to move regardless of what the White House says. ... The American people are going to provide leadership, even if President Trump will not."