Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Friday declined to say whether President Donald Trump believes that climate change is real.

Pruitt was asked that question three times during an appearance at the daily White House press briefing and refused to answer "yes" or "no" both times. The EPA chief spoke extensively with Trump during deliberations over leaving the Paris climate agreement, but suggested the president's stance on climate change had not come up.

"All the discussions we had through the last several weeks have been focused on one singular issue: Is Paris good or not for this country. That's the discussions I've had with the president."

Trump has called climate change a hoax created by the Chinese in the past. On Thursday, he announced he would pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, which Pruitt advised him to do.

Pruitt himself has consistently expressed doubts about mankind's roll in global warming. In March, he told CNBC he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming.