Trump woos oil executives by pledging to let industry ‘drill, baby, drill’

Hello and welcome to the US election countdown. Today we are talking about:

Donald Trump drills for oil money.

He spent yesterday in Texas meeting with oil barons for cash, as well as tycoons operating in industries from sports to automobiles, as he races to chip away at Joe Biden’s lead in fundraising matters. [free to read].

Companies run by these oil tycoons have generated record profits in recent years (yes, including under Biden, despite the industry’s hostility toward him). But Trump knows the key to their hearts lies in lax regulation. He pledged to get rid of much of Biden’s environmental and climate agenda to let them “drill, baby, drill.”

An event Trump attended in Houston was hosted by shale tycoon Harold Hamm, who chairs Continental Resources, and Occidental Petroleum chief Vicki Hollub. Jeff Hildebrand of Hilcorp and George Bishop of GeoSouthern Energy arranged another meeting.

Members of the organizing committee for the Hildebrand event, which has raised money for causes including the Trump campaign and a group that pays the ex-president’s legal fees, paid $250,000, or $500,000 per couple. Participants donated at least $10,000 per person, according to the invitation.

The FT’s Myles McCormick was on the ground in Texas:

On Wednesday at Houston’s five-star Post Oak Hotel, owned by Houston Rockets owner and Trump supporter Tilman Fertitta, attendees were whisked into a room adorned with blue curtains and American flags for lunch, sessions photos and a round table with the former president.

Outside, the police and secret services turned away those who had not paid the fine.

But not all oil executives are convinced by Trump: Privately, some have expressed concerns about his unpredictability and, more importantly, the effects his tariffs could have on oil demand.

“He’ll raise money here, that’s for sure.” Now, will it be as much as last time? I’d be surprised if that were the case,” said a wealthy Texas oil donor who donated to the Republican Party but did not give to Trump.

Next month, the ex-president will travel to California for a fundraiser hosted by billionaire tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey and venture capitalist David Sacks.

Campaign extracts: the latest election headlines

• Nikki Haley has endorsed Trump, months after dropping out of the Republican presidential nomination race. [free to read].

• U.S. Federal Reserve officials were open to further interest rate hikes to control inflation, according to minutes of their latest meeting.

• The prosecutor in Trump’s Georgia criminal case, Fani Willis, easily won her primary, while the presiding judge won re-election. (NYT)

• Trump’s campaign removed a video shared by the candidate that alluded to Germany’s Nazi era and said he would establish a “unified Reich.”

• Trump’s hush money trial is drawing to a close, with closing arguments set to begin Tuesday. Trump’s defense ended without the ex-president speaking.

In the wings

Democrats want North Carolina.

Although Barack Obama took the Southern state in 2008, it had not gone blue since 1976. Since Biden lost North Carolina by just 1.3 points in 2020, Democrats believe the state is in play this time.

With its 16 electoral votes, North Carolina is considered a swing state in this election, and Democrats believe young, progressive voters are the key to swinging it into Biden’s column.

But with the environment at the forefront of their concerns, young voters don’t seem as convinced of the president.

“I don’t feel like we’ve done enough to combat climate change,” Cameron, a 19-year-old physiology student at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, told Aime The FT’s Williams, warning he plans to stay home and didn’t vote in November.

Biden and state Democratic operatives must now convince North Carolina’s young voters that Biden has stuck to his climate agenda and that Trump would be worse for the planet.

But how realistic is a victory in North Carolina? Trump leads by 4.8 percent in the state, according to RealClearPolitics. Democrats are spending money there, but it’s not their main battleground.

Democratic groups have committed $5.5 million to ads in North Carolina, the lowest amount spent in any of the seven swing states, where total spending is more than $140 million.

Watch for Aime’s full North Carolina dispatch, which will be released in the coming days.

Data point

For the first time this year, Trump raised more money than Biden last month, according to the Republican campaign.

Trump’s campaign said he raised $76 million in April. The news comes as Trump has been stuck in court for weeks and less active on the campaign trail. The result was “thanks to the support of millions of small donors from every state across the country,” said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

However, we do know that Trump was expected to raise $33 million at a single fundraiser in Florida last month, which guests paid more than $250,000 to attend.

The Biden camp said it brought in $51 million during its April cash drive. While that figure may be lower than Trump’s reported sum, we know that the Biden campaign’s $192 million war chest still dwarfs Trump’s. It remains to be seen how much Trump will bring in thanks to his new form of fundraising: he now accepts payments in cryptocurrencies.

Perspectives