NEW JOINT REPORT: Trump and the Cost of Energy Corruption

Washington, DC – As Trump’s reckless energy policies spike utility bills and his war of choice in Iran sends gas prices through the roof, a new report from Climate Power and Public Citizen shows that his billionaire fossil fuel donors are raking in massive profits. Trump promised to cut electricity bills in half and put America first, but instead, utility bills have spiked by as much as 13% and a deeply unpopular war with Iran is approaching its 8th week. 

Since day one, Trump has prioritized his billionaire supporters over his promises to the American people. On the campaign trail, Trump gathered oil and gas billionaires at Mar-a-Lago to ask them for $1 billion for his campaign–while promising to enact a veritable wishlist for the industry. This report shows how Trump has delivered on that promise by gutting fossil fuels’ clean energy competition, bailing out coal at ratepayer expense, and now, his war of choice in Iran — all while Americans face skyrocketing utility bills and months of pain at the pump. 

“Corruption has a cost, and Trump has ushered in the ‘golden age’ of energy corruption ,” said Climate Power Senior Advisor Jesse Lee. “Trump gave away the game when he celebrated high oil prices because ‘we make a lot of money.’ And oil and gas executives continue to fund Trump’s political operation along with his real passion, the gold-plated ballroom he is building over the wreckage of the White House, where they can all pop champagne together..” 

“Trump waited only hours after election day to turn his back on his promise to voters that he would ‘cut energy and electricity prices in half within 12 months—not just for businesses but for all Americans and their families.’ Trump’s run at populism was a ruse, because his plan all along was to hand energy policy over to fossil fuel companies and Big Tech and show contempt with families struggling with persistently high energy bills, claiming that any poll showing voter concerns with affordability ‘are fake’ and declaring affordability to be a hoax,” said Tyson Slocum, Director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program. “American families know better than anyone else: our energy bills have skyrocketed since Trump took office, because the President has aggressively pushed terrible policies that drive prices up and shutter projects that could bring prices down.”

The report’s findings include: 

• As President Trump’s war in Iran drives gas prices past $4 per gallon, American bank accounts have already been drained by skyrocketing energy prices in their homes. Meanwhile, Trump is delivering for his oil, gas, and coal donors by gutting clean energy projects across the country, pushing LNG exports, and propping up the coal industry at a huge ratepayer expense.  

• For years, the oil industry has viewed the rise of electric vehicles as an “existential threat.” Trump promised to grant oil executives their wish list while asking for a billion dollars for his campaign, and at the top of his list of offerings was stomping out the American EV industry. Now, as the war in Iran spikes global oil prices – providing the oil industry with a windfall estimated at $63 billion – the ramifications of Trump’s crusade to kill American EVs are coming into focus.

• These costs are just beginning, as Trump overtly attempts to force tech companies to power their data centers with gas and coal. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released an analysis showing that Trump’s effort to gut clean energy supply will double the inflationary effect of data center expansion.