European leaders urged the United States to stay in the Paris climate agreement so they could suppress the American economy, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said Friday. "The world applauded when we joined Paris, and you know why? I think they applauded because they knew it was going to put this country at an economic disadvantage," he said during a White House press briefing. "And the reason European leaders ... that I think they want us to stay in, is because they know it will continue to shackle our economy," he said. Pruitt's comments are remarkable because the United States has historically counted many European countries as its closest strategic allies. The U.S. is also the European Union's largest trade partner and its biggest export market.

The United States has a seat at the table. After all, we're the United States Scott Pruitt EPA administrator

Pruitt's remarks echoed comments by President Donald Trump on Thursday, when he announced he was pulling the United States out of the Paris Agreement, an international treaty aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. Trump said he was open to renegotiating the Paris Agreement or creating an entirely new accord after the United States withdraws. Leaders of major European nations roundly rejected that prospect. In a statement to CNBC, a European Commission official said, the "Paris Agreement is non-negotiable." Asked how Trump would negotiate given that European leaders are not interested, Pruitt suggested the United States could not be sidelined. "The United States has a seat at the table," he said. "After all, we're the United States."