- At a Mar-a-Lago event last month, former President Trump asked oil executives to donate $1 billion to his campaign.
- At the same event, Trump promised to satisfy a variety of industry demands, including a reversal of automotive emissions regulations introduced under Biden.
- The industry is already spending an eight-figure amount of money campaigning against the climate policy.
Former President Donald Trump hosted a dinner for oil executives and lobbyists at Mar-a-Lago last month in which he asked for the industry’s government policy wishlist. He then suggested that they should donate $1 billion to his presidential campaign.
According to people who were in the room, attendees were stunned by the presidential candidate’s openly transactional tone, but representatives said that Trump was simply suggesting that the oil industry should want him to win, and that $1 billion would help his chances.
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About 20 people were in attendance at the April 11 event, which was billed as an “energy round table,” reports the New York Times. Among them, executives from ExxonMobil, EQT Corporation, the American Petroleum Institute, and more.
To be sure, the oil industry is opposed to Biden, funneling an eight-figure amount of money into a national advertising campaign to “dismantle policy threats,” such as the EPA’s new emissions targets for passenger vehicles.
The White House described the new rules as the most ambitious tailpipe restrictions ever, but they have been (incorrectly) described as an EV mandate those who oppose them, and challenged in court by Republicans. Trump has been among those opponents, railing against the rules, and promising to dismantle them the day he enters office.
While that will likely please the oil lobby, it may not appeal to everyone. The automotive industry, for instance, has come out in favor of the EPA’s emissions rules, seeking consistency across jurisdictions after having poured billions of dollars into developing electric vehicle technology.
Although the oil industry is opposed to the EPA’s new regulation, it is still doing remarkably well under the Biden administration. Last year the industry produced record amounts of oil and enjoyed record profits, and the U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas — something that has frustrated environmental activists even as the oil industry lobbies against the current administration.
