Pelosi Calls Trump 'The Biggest Con Job in American History' as U.S. Stays Away from COP30

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sharply criticized President Donald Trump for his climate stance at a press event convened by Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, calling him 'the biggest con job in American history.' Her remarks came as lawmakers addressed the decision not to send a U.S. delegation to COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

At the UN General Assembly in September, Trump described the climate crisis as 'the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.' Pelosi responded that the comment was projection and part of an administration agenda she described as anti-climate.

The administration declined to send an official U.S. delegation to the annual summit — the first such absence in the conference's history — after withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement soon after returning to office in January.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the ranking member on the Environment and Public Works Committee and a longtime climate advocate, was the only federal official to attend COP30. Whitehouse spent several days in Belém to highlight the influence of the fossil fuel industry and said the president does not represent the country on climate matters.

'Trump does not represent the United States on matters related to climate. He represents the fossil fuel industry, and specifically his big billionaire fossil fuel donors when it comes to climate matters,' Whitehouse said.

Denied an official U.S. badge for the conference, Whitehouse attended as part of a delegation from a climate research nonprofit. He emphasized that fossil fuel industry influence stretches back decades and cited a long campaign of denial and, in the wake of Citizens United, the use of large political expenditures to block meaningful climate action.

Polling released by the progressive research group Data for Progress shows broad public support for bold climate steps in the U.S. The survey found 65% of voters believe the country should pursue ambitious climate action even if other nations do not, including 85% of Democrats, 63% of independents and a plurality of Republicans at 47%. The poll also found 55% of voters support a global phaseout of fossil fuels, and 54% think the U.S. should significantly reduce fossil fuel use by the end of the century.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized the administration's absence as ceding global leadership on climate to rival powers. Pelosi said she agreed with Jeffries and recalled attending her first U.N. climate summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, when Al Gore led the U.S. delegation.

Pelosi also linked Trump's policies on education, gun violence and the environment to long-term harm for younger generations. 'Donald Trump is the worst president of the United States for America's children, the worst president America's children have ever had,' she said.