According to a shocking new report, Donald Trump dangled a brazen “deal” in front of some of the top US oil executives last month, proposing that they give him $1 billion for his White House re-election campaign and promising that once back in office, he would immediately tear up Joe Biden’s environmental regulations and prevent any new ones.
According to the Washington Post, the former US president made his jaw-dropping pitch at a meal at his Mar-a-Lago house and club, which the article described as “remarkably blunt and transactional.”.
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In front of more than 20 executives, including Chevron, Exxon, and Occidental Petroleum, he promised to accelerate oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, remove barriers to drilling in the Alaskan Arctic, and repeal new vehicle emission regulations. He would also reverse the Biden administration’s January decision to halt new natural gas export permits, which have been labeled as “climate bombs.”
“You’ll get it on the first day,” Trump told the Post, quoting an unidentified dinner guest.
On Wednesday, environmental groups instantly condemned Trump’s admonition to oil CEOs that they were affluent enough to invest $1 billion into his campaign war chest while also promising a U-turn on Biden’s attempts to tackle the climate catastrophe.
“$1 billion for Trump, a disastrous climate future for the rest of us,” stated Pete Maysmith of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV).
According to Christina Polizzi of Climate Power, Trump is “putting the future of the planet up for sale.”.
“He is in big oil’s pocket—he gave them $25 billion in tax breaks in his first term—and now it’s clear he is willing to do whatever big oil wants in a potential second term.”
The former president’s interactions with fossil fuel companies piqued the interest of those tracking the role of money in politics. According to Jordan Libowitz of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (Crew), a nonpartisan government watchdog, the interaction, as described by the Post, “certainly looks a lot like quid pro quo.”.
Libowitz described the interaction as “about as blatant as I’ve ever seen.” Politicians frequently give a nudge and a wink; they do not state, “Raise a billion dollars for me, and I’ll get rid of the regulations you want.”
He noted that Crew’s legal team was investigating whether it met the high legal requirement for bribery.
Trump’s extensive ties to the oil business, as well as his opposition to federal laws aimed at reducing emissions that worsen the climate issue, are well known and longstanding. With six months until the presidential election, he is ratcheting up his efforts to raise campaign funds from the sector.
Trump is also performing well in the polls. Having all but secured the Republican nomination, Trump is frequently narrowly ahead of Joe Biden in presidential election polls, including excellent performance in important swing states critical to any candidate’s prospects of winning. Trump’s strong performance comes despite a slew of legal issues, including his current trial in New York for allegedly paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
For their part, executives at major oil corporations have been planning for a potential Trump second term by drafting executive orders that will be ready to sign as soon as he comes to office. Politico reported this week that the executives had collaborated to develop off-the-shelf strategies for growing natural gas exports, boosting drilling, and extending offshore oil leases.
The interaction between Trump and the oil corporations as the election approaches highlights the wide divide between the former president and the present occupant of the White House. According to an analysis by a coalition of environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and LCV, the Biden administration has taken more than 300 acts to improve public health and renewable energy than any other administration in US history.
These efforts included the first major climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, which sparked record investment in clean energy sources such as solar and wind, as well as a surge in electric vehicle sales. This year, US energy emissions are gradually decreasing by approximately 3%.
Nonetheless, the United States is extracting more oil and gas than ever before, producing almost 13 million barrels of crude oil per day, more than double the output levels a decade ago.
