Opinion | Trump promises tax cuts and fewer rules. CEOs shouldn't fall for it. – The Washington Post
To the former president, democracy is negotiable.
Even after all the alarming antics former president Donald Trump has engaged in over the past decade, it was jarring to learn what he said to about two dozen oil company executives at an April 11 dinner in his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion, Mar-a-Lago. As The Post reported, Mr. Trump responded to one executive’s complaint about the burdensome regulations the industry faces under President Biden, despite spending $400 million on lobbying against them. He told them they should instead donate $1 billion to his presidential election campaign, in return for which they would get lighter regulation and lower taxes — a much better “deal.” To be sure, it’s impossible to know whether this was a serious quid pro quo or just another case of the former president’s off-the-cuff bombast. Perhaps we’ll learn more if an inquiry by House Democrats gains traction. The troubling appearance, so consistent with Mr. Trump’s generally unprincipled approach to politics and government, is evident, though.