On April 11, the presumptive GOP nominee and former President Donald Trump reportedly asked a group of 20 top oil and gas industry executives gathered at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida for $1 billion in campaign contributions.
Trump claimed that if re-elected he would reverse the Biden-Harris administration’s pause on the Keystone Pipeline extension, open the Alaskan Arctic to drilling, and ditch federal plans to cut pollution from car tailpipes.
According to The Washington Post Trump told the industry executives, “You all are wealthy enough” and that “you should raise $1 billion to return me to the White House.” He also claimed that “[g]iving $1 billion would be a ‘deal’” because of the taxation and regulation he would help them avoid.
After Trump’s quid pro quo financial proposal was reported, the organization Data for Progress and Climate Power conducted a poll. Results were released on Monday: “Almost 6 in 10 likely voters surveyed — 58 percent — said they were ‘concerned’ about a second Trump term after hearing about the former president’s reported offer to undo broad swaths of President Biden’s climate policies.” And nearly 61 percent of likely voters said they would “reconsider” their vote for a politician who made such an offer.
Last week, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, opened a probe into “Trump’s offer to change U.S. energy policy in exchange for $1 Billion in campaign cash from big oil,” and has written to nine CEOs of Big Oil companies “demanding answers” related to Trump’s reported quid pro quo proposal.