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| Ivanka Trump walks through the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City on Nov. 21. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) |
President-elect Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump is scheduled to
meet Monday with Al Gore, the former Democratic vice president who has
become a leading activist in the fight against global warming, to
discuss “climate issues,” according to the president-elect's spokesman.
Donald
Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax” and has even
accused the Chinese government of creating this fake problem to steal
manufacturing jobs from the United States. But Trump seemed to soften
that position during a meeting with the New York Times late last month,
saying that he would keep an “open mind” on the issue and acknowledged
that human activity might be connected to changes in the climate.
Ivanka
Trump, who is not registered with a political party, is one of the most
influential people in Trump's life, and has already pushed her father
to adopt positions usually promoted by Democrats, including making child
care more affordable to women. Although Ivanka Trump has said she does
not plan to take an active role in her father's administration, she is a
member of his transition team. Her husband, Jared Kushner, is one of
Trump's most trusted aides. The couple is reportedly house-hunting in Washington.
Gore
arrived at Trump Tower in New York late Monday morning and did not
answer questions from reporters. Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump,
said on a morning briefing call with reporters that the president-elect
does not plan to meet with Gore, and he did not provide any additional
details about the meeting with Ivanka Trump. When asked if Trump and her
father disagree on the issue of climate change, Miller said that he
does not have any information to provide at this time.
While Gore
was not personally close to Hillary Clinton — their relationship became
strained in the wake of President Bill Clinton's impeachment and as
they both vied for Democratic donors' support during their respective
political bids in 2000 — the former vice president campaigned on her
behalf late in this year's presidential campaign.
Speaking
to an audience at Miami Dade College in October, Gore warned that
Trump, “based on the ideas that he has presented, would take us toward a
climate catastrophe.” Appealing directly to millennials, he alluded to
his own narrow loss to George W. Bush in 2000 in Florida and said young
people could not afford to vote for anyone other than Clinton.
“The
world is on the cusp of either building on the progress and solving the
climate crisis, or stepping back, washing our hands of America’s
traditional role as the leader of the world and letting the big
polluters call the shots,” Gore said. “The choice is that clear. It’s
that stark.”
But while national environmental groups and many
scientists have already fired shots across the bow at Donald Trump,
suggesting he needs to respect scientific integrity and refrain from
appointing advisers who would gut existing environmental and public
health safeguards, some prominent activists have been exploring ways to
influence the incoming administration. The most obvious target has been
Ivanka Trump and her husband, since they are seen as the least
conservative members of Trump's family.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, for example, recently gave her a copy of his new National Geographic documentary on climate change, “Before the Flood.”
DiCaprio aired the documentary in October on the White House's South
Lawn, before which he appeared onstage with President Obama and
atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe.
DiCaprio, who campaigned
on Clinton's behalf and aired the film on college campuses in Florida
and elsewhere, did not mention Trump by name but alluded to him at the
event.
“We must empower leaders who not only believe in climate
change but are willing to do something about it,” he said. “The
scientific consensus is in, and the argument is now over. If you do not
believe in climate change, you do not believe in facts, or in science,
or empirical truths, and therefore, in my humble opinion, should not be
allowed to hold public office.”
WP
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