Rev. Franklin Graham urged a return to American energy independence Tuesday, as we had “when President Trump was in office.”
Rev. Graham stopped in Alaska on his way home from Vietnam and took the occasion to thank the Biden administration for its “common sense” approved opening of three proposed oil drilling sites in Alaska.
On Monday, the Interior Department announced the approval of a modified version of crude oil producer ConocoPhillips’ proposal to drill in the National Petroleum Reserve. On the campaign trail, Mr. Biden had called for an end to drilling on federal lands.
“I believe we should be using the resources God has given us and striving for energy independence, as we were when President Trump was in office,” Graham stated. “There’s no reason we can’t do this.”
“And I’m all for exploring alternate sources of energy for the future,” he noted. “As Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan said, it is ‘national security suicide’ to be dependent on countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for oil.”
Watch as Franklin Graham Thanks God for ‘Past Four Years’ Under President Trump in 2020
In 2017, the Trump administration eliminated “climate change” from its list of national security threats, preferring instead to “embrace energy dominance.”
Trump’s national security strategy (NSS) stressed the importance of balancing energy security with economic development and environmental protection while rejoicing in America’s energy independence as an achievement to be proud of.
“U.S. leadership is indispensable to countering an anti-growth, energy agenda that is detrimental to U.S. economic and energy security interests,” the NSS declared. “Given future global energy demand, much of the developing world will require fossil fuels, as well as other forms of energy, to power their economies and lift their people out of poverty.”
“For the first time in generations, the United States will be an energy-dominant nation,” the communique stated. “Energy dominance — America’s central position in the global energy system as a leading producer, consumer, and innovator — ensures that markets are free and U.S. infrastructure is resilient and secure,” it added.