Trump’s Mar-a-Lago fundraising pitch to oil executives: I will kill wind

At a fundraising dinner, Donald Trump doubles down on promises to derail a key form of clean energy that competes with fossil fuels

By Maxine Joselow and Josh Dawsey
April 17, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Former president Donald Trump repeatedly ranted about wind power during a fundraising dinner with oil and gas industry executives last week, falsely claiming that the renewable-energy source is unreliable, unattractive and bad for the environment.

“I hate wind,” Trump told the executives over a meal of chopped steak at his Mar-a-Lago Club and resort in Florida, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation.

Trump’s comments reveal how he is wooing potential donors with his long-standing hostility to wind farms and pledges to halt this form of renewable energy if he returns to office. His stance poses a potential threat to one of the linchpins of America’s clean energy transition, according to more than a dozen Trump allies, energy experts and offshore wind industry officials.
Even if President Biden were to win reelection, experts say, opponents of offshore wind will remain emboldened by Trump’s stance and well positioned to challenge a new generation of projects in federal waters.

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