Trump expands offshore drill site ban
Move affects coasts of Florida, Georgia, S.C.
JUPITER, Fla. — President Donald Trump expanded a ban on new offshore drilling Tuesday, an election-year reversal likely to appeal to voters in Florida and other coastal states.
“This protects your beautiful gulf and your beautiful ocean, and it will for a long time to come,” Trump said as he announced the expanded drilling ban during an appearance at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse.
The president signed a memorandum instructing the interior secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off both Florida coasts, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina for a period of 10 years — from July 1, 2022, to June 20, 2032.
The existing moratorium covers the Gulf of Mexico, and Trump said the new one would also cover the Atlantic coast — a significant political concern in coastal states like Florida.
Energy industry groups said the decision was the “wrong approach” for the times.
Trump used the event to portray himself as an environmental steward and contrast his record against that of Democrat Joe Biden.
The trip comes as Trump steps up his travel to battleground states eight week before the election. From Florida, he headed for a campaign rally in North Carolina before returning to the White House late Tuesday.
Trump used the event to lambaste his opponent with claims that Biden would “destroy America’s middle class” and give a “free pass to the world’s worst foreign polluters.”
Trump offered himself as the greatest environmental president since Theodore Roosevelt.
“Who would have thought? Trump is the great environmentalist,” the president said. “You hear that?
That’s good, and I am. I am. I believe strongly in it.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster applauded Tuesday’s announcement as “good news” but warned “we must remain vigilant in the conservation and preservation of our coastline.”
Trump said he had also been discussing the moratorium with Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, who greeted Trump at the airport in West Palm Beach and attended the Jupiter event.