Trump asked oil CEOs for $1 billion in campaign donations in exchange for scrapping Biden’s policies on electric vehicles and fossil fuels
Donald Trump made an extraordinary offer to oil executives and lobbyists over a chopped steak dinner at his Mar-a-Lago headquarters: Bring me back to the White House with $1 billion in donations and I will undo Joe Biden’s burdensome environmental regulations , including its electric car mandate.
Several people with knowledge of the conversation said the offer stunned those at the “round energy table” at his Florida club.
Oil industry figures had reportedly expressed frustration over new regulations they said would hamper their business operations, prompting Trump to outline his idea.
The Biden campaign seized on the messages, accusing the Republican candidate of handing over working families to Big Oil.
The story, reported by the Washingtonpostillustrates both the former president’s highly transactional approach to politics and his dependence on the oil industry.
Donald Trump urged oil executives and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to help him win the White House. In return, he said he would destroy Joe Biden’s green policies
Executives gathered at Mar-a-Lago complained about regulations hurting their industry. Pump jacks are seen here in an oil field in Midland, Texas
Trump sold the idea as a good “deal” to those in attendance, in exchange for repealing environmental regulations and policies and delaying new regulations and policies.
It comes as the Biden administration races to undo Trump’s actions during his time in office and issue new environmental regulations before the election.
Trump promised a return to less restrictive policies.
‘You’ve been waiting for a permit for five years; you get it on day one,” Trump told the gathering, according to one attendee.
And he focused mainly on new rules to reduce emissions from car tailpipes, which would boost sales of electric cars. He called the rules “ridiculous.”
Despite the complaints, the US oil industry is booming.
Production broke records last year and the industry is on track to soar to a new high of 13.21 million barrels per day this year, the government’s Energy Information Administration said.
But Trump promised even better times. he pledged to immediately end Biden’s freeze on new permits for liquefied national gas exports (implemented to study its effect on climate change and national security), asks one of the industry’s top executives.
“You get it on the first day,” he said, according to one person present.
About 20 people attended the April 11 event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club
Among those in attendance was North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who has advised Trump on energy issues after he withdrew from the 2024 Republican nomination race.
Attendees included Mike Sabel, the CEO and founder of Venture Global, and Jack Fusco, the CEO of Cheniere Energy. Figures from Chevron, Continental Resources, Exxon and Occidental, among others.
About 20 people attended the April 11 event, according to the New York Times. It was organized by Harold Hamm, a billionaire who has long contributed to the development of Republican energy policy.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick, was also in attendance. He has been advising Trump on energy issues since he withdrew from the 2024 Republican nomination race.
Trump’s message was that they should donate to his campaign because his policies would be better for their sector than Biden’s.
“That was his pitch to everyone,” said Michael McKenna, who worked in the Trump White House.
And he also reportedly went on a tirade against wind turbines. He has repeatedly falsely claimed that they cause cancer.
Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said, “This is Trump’s corrupt MAGA agenda in a nutshell: Trump is acting as a puppet for his biggest donors — giving them tax breaks and favorable policies while screwing working families.”
While executives have pushed for some of Biden’s rules to be reversed, some have also expressed frustration with the way policies are introduced and then discarded with each change in political leadership. Some say they simply want consistency to help with planning.