In a recent attempt to secure financing for his re-election campaign, former U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a high-profile event for top oil executives at his Mar-a-Lago Club. The event is making headlines, as Trump asked oil executives for a bold and rather hefty contribution of $1 billion.
According to the Washington Post, Trump promised to ‘dismantle Biden’s environmental policy’ – which is seen as unfavorable by the oil and gas industry.
In addition, Trump was reported to promise to reverse current environmental laws in addition to stopping new ones from being enacted, WP added, citing an anonymous source.
According to sources close to the matter, some of the companies included Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Continental Resources, Cheniere Energy, and the trade association American Petroleum Institute, POLITICO informs.
Throughout his tenure as president, Trump referred to climate change and global warming as a “hoax,” and a second presidency backed by the fossil fuel industry has sparked fear of what this would mean for the current U.S. environmental agenda, Business Insider reports.
Additionally, this exchange is problematic for many reasons, but it mostly highlights loopholes in the laws pertaining to the funding of political campaigns, according to Erin Chlopak, a senior campaign finance director at the watchdog group Campaign Legal Center.
“At a high level, it perfectly captures so much of what’s wrong with our big money campaign finance system,” said Chlopak, as quoted by POLITICO.
