Trump and MAGA Republicans Double Down on Climate Denial, Putting Big Oil Profits Before People

New Report Shows That Excess Oil Profits Stemmed from ‘Greedflation’

Washington, D.C. – Trump and MAGA Republicans have made it clear their top priority is to roll back climate progress and double down on oil and gas. Donald Trump leaned into his history of climate denial this weekend, calling climate change “one of the greatest con jobs ever.” At the same time, Trump’s MAGA allies in Congress are promoting a bill that would benefit Big Oil CEOs “as an alternative to the Biden administration’s ambitious clean energy targets.” 

Republicans have set the stakes for 2024: they are running against climate action despite its broad support among voters. 

“Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are telling us exactly what their priorities are: to roll back clean energy jobs and climate progress,” said Climate Power communications director Alex Glass. “The polling shows that the majority of Americans, Republicans included, are worried about the environmental changes driving the extreme weather that people all across the country are experiencing. Continuing to side with Big Oil CEOs and working to pad their massive profits is a risky political move.”

The latest MAGA push to aid their Big Oil campaign benefactors comes as 79% of adults in a new CNN poll say that climate change has contributed to extreme weather in their area. And 73% of adults, including 50% of Republicans and 76% of independents, support President Biden’s goal of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030. 

As Trump and MAGA Republicans continue to side with Big Oil CEOs, a new report sheds light on the impact of the industry’s rampant profiteering. “Major companies in the energy and food sectors amplified inflation in 2022 by passing on greater cost increases than needed to protect margins,” according to a new report from the Institute For Public Policy Research and Common Wealth. The report specifically called out Shell, Exxon, and Glencore as companies whose profits “far outpaced inflation.”

“While consumers suffered from pain at the pump, Big Oil CEOs and their wealthy shareholders laughed all the way to the bank,” said Glass. “In 2024, voters will have a choice between Big Oil’s GOP enablers and addressing the climate crisis, lowering energy costs, and investing in our clean energy economy.”