Trump unexpectedly turned up at the U.N. climate summit. He only stayed for 10 minutes.

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Trump made a surprise appearance at the United Nations climate summit Monday, but he didn't stick around for long.

Trump was expected to skip the gathering altogether — sure, he was scheduled to speak at a separate event focused on religious freedom and religious persecution, but the president has also never really been in tune with other countries when it comes to climate issues. That said, he showed up, listened to speeches from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (for whom he reportedly clapped), and then left. It all took about 10 minutes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.