Trump was describing his fundraising skills during a rally in Arizona."I call the head of Exxon," Trump said in his example."I don't know. I'll use a company. 'Hey, how are you doing, how's energy coming? When are you doing the exploration? Oh, you need a couple of permits, huh? Okay."
"But I call the head of Exxon, I say, 'You know, I'd love you to send me $25 million for the campaign,' Trump said before delivering his idea of what ExxonMobil's answer would be. 'Absolutely, sir. Why didn't you ask? Would you like some more?'" Energy company ExxonMobil said Monday that President Donald Trump's mention of a fundraising call between himself and ExxonMobil's CEO during a campaign speech reflected a"hypothetical" situation."And if I make the call—people make the call, that's different, you know," Trump said on Monday."But if I made the call, I would hit a home run every single call. I would raise a billion dollars in one day if I wanted to. I don't want to do that.
Trump has made the point in previous public comments that he did not want to engage in fundraising because it would place it place him at the mercy of his donors.Some observers on social media pointed out that if Trump had engaged in such a conversation, it would be illegal. California Representative Ted Lieu tweeted,"The conduct described by @realDonaldTrump is a felony and punishable with prison time.