- Oct 17, 2011
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Trump just made more promises to oil industry campaign donors
In a rambling fundraising pitch to oil executives in Houston on Wednesday, former president Donald Trump promised them that he would immediately approve their projects and expand drilling in a second termThe event, organized by three oil executives, underscores how Trump is courting an industry that ranked as a main beneficiary of his time in the White House, as he seeks to narrow President Biden’s fundraising advantage.
One co-host of Wednesday’s fundraiser was Kelcy Warren, the billionaire chairman and CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, the builder of the Dakota Access pipeline.
Warren appears to be firmly in Trump’s camp. In addition to co-hosting the Houston fundraiser, where attendance cost $250,000 per person, he donated $800,000 to the Trump campaign throughout the 2024 campaign cycle.
Another co-host of the Houston fundraiser was Harold Hamm, the executive chairman of the oil giant Continental Resources and a pioneer of the country’s fracking boom.
The third co-host of the fundraiser was Vicki Hollub, the CEO of Occidental Petroleum
“Be generous, please,” he said to end his speech, after making policy promises and touting his energy record. One person involved in the event said it raised more than $25 million.
Trump promised the oil executives that he would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling.
At the Houston fundraiser, Trump again griped about wind energy, claiming that turbines kill bald eagles and that wind “doesn’t work,”
He also mocked energy-efficient and water-saving appliances, calling them a “scam” and “the energy hoax.”
The fundraiser covered a range of other topics. He bragged about his golf game — saying he had improved over the past 25 years — and ... bragged about his ability to save Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) from impeachment, saying his critics backed down after Trump weighed in to defend Paxton.
“I’m the greatest [election] denier in history.”
Despite the oil industry’s complaints about Biden’s policies, the United States now produces more oil than any country ever has, pumping nearly 13 million barrels per day on average last year.
