"Trump reportedly promised that, in exchange for $1 billion in campaign contributions, he'd roll back Biden's environmental regulations when he's reelected."

"California Governor Gavin Newsom called former President Donald Trump's request for $1 billion from the oil industry to support his reelection campaign "open corruption."

Newsom, a Democrat, made the accusation in a speech Thursday at the Vatican Climate Summit, where he addressed other governors, mayors and civic and faith leaders from around the world.

"Former President Donald Trump, who just last week, I never thought I’d see this — I’ve heard it, but I’ve never seen it," Newsom told the attendees. "Donald Trump, just last week, had oil executives convening, talking about his election. And he openly asked them for $1 billion to roll back the environmental progress of the Biden administration, the environmental progress that we’ve made over the course of the last half century. Open corruption."

He continued: "A billion dollars to pollute our states, to pollute our country, and to pollute this planet and to rollback progress in the open. This is the moment we’re living in, and it calls for clarity. And it calls for understanding of what we’re up against.""

Edvard Pettersson reports for Courthouse News Service May 16, 2024. [2]