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- Donald Trump made a $1 billion fundraising pitch to oil executives, The Washington Post reported.
- Trump promises to dismantle Biden's environmental policies if reelected.
- His campaign needs the funds due to lagging behind Biden and legal expenses.
Former President Donald Trump recently hosted a high-stakes dinner at his Mar-a-Lago Club, where he boldly pitched to top oil executives, The Washington Post reports.
Last month, he asked for a $1 billion contribution to his reelection campaign, and in return, he pledged to dismantle President Joe Biden's environmental policies that have been a thorn in the side of the fossil fuel industry.
Trump's forward approach came as reports suggested the size of his reelection campaign war chest lags behind his Democratic opponent. Meanwhile, the former president, who is facing 88 criminal counts, indicted in four separate prosecutions, has been spending millions on legal fees and drawing on campaign funds to pay his lawyers.
A billion dollars would dramatically exceed Biden's fundraising. In March, the president's campaign said it had $192 million in the bank.
Anonymous sources with knowledge of the meeting with two dozen oil bosses told the Post that Trump assured them of immediate action to reverse Biden's environmental regulations and prevent the enactment of new ones.
The transactional campaign promise indicates what a second Trump presidency would mean for the White House's environmental agenda.
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While Biden has positioned the climate crisis as an existential threat and championed aggressive environmental regulations, Trump has dismissed it as a hoax and systematically dismantled environmental protections during his tenure.
Since taking office in 2021, Biden has swiftly reversed many of Trump's environmental actions, including blocking future oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic.
Within his first month at the helm, Biden began unraveling Trump's oil legacy, revoking a key permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, directing the EPA to revamp regulations for methane emissions, and introducing more ambitious fuel-efficiency standards, BI's Benji Jones reported.
However, despite oil industry grievances over Biden's policies, the US has experienced record oil production, leading to substantial profits for major energy companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron, said The Post.
At the Mar-a-Lago dinner, Trump promised a "deal" that would be a boon for the oil giants, vowing to expedite permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and auction off more drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, said The Post
While some in the industry initially favored alternative Republican contenders, Trump's steadfast commitment to pro-oil policies has garnered reluctant support.
Trump's "drill, baby, drill" mantra and promises of deregulation continue to resonate within the oil patch, contrasting starkly with Biden's green-energy agenda.
In January, Trump, in a Fox News town hall on the eve of the Iowa primary, said, "We have more liquid gold under our feet; energy, oil, and gas than any other country in the world," and called clean energy a "new scam business."
Oil execs are disillusioned by Biden's failure to defend their industry's interests despite spending $400 million to lobby the administration last year, the sources told the Post.
As the campaign trail heats up, Trump's message to the oil industry remains clear: support him, and he'll deliver on their demands.