"Drill, Baby, Drill" Has Been a Republican Campaign Talking Point for Decades

The return of Donald Trump to the White House has brought with it a number of immediate changes to U.S. policy. Among those changes is a de-emphasizing of environmental protections and a renewed emphasis on American oil production, or at least so they say.

Donald Trump wants to "drill, baby, drill," which has led many to wonder what that motto means and where it actually comes from. Here's what we know.

The slogan "drill, baby, drill" was first used at the 2008 Republican National Convention by Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele. It was then picked up by Sarah Palin during that year's vice presidential debate before Donald Trump started using it regularly during the 2024 presidential campaign. Essentially, the slogan suggests that Trump will deprioritize environmental protections of all kinds in favor of drilling for oil across the United States.

It's worth noting that oil production in the United States actually reached an all-time high under President Biden, so it's unclear how much more Trump is planning to do on top of what was already being done under Biden.

The slogan, though, suggests that regardless of whether there's a real policy change or not, Trump will likely take credit for the high level of domestic oil production with some frequency.

"Starting on Day 1, I will approve new drilling, new pipelines, new refiners, new power plants, new reactors, and we will slash the red tape," Trump said during a rally in September of 2024.

In an interview with NPR, Brian Murray, the director of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University, said that there are things that Trump could do if he actually wanted to increase domestic oil production.

"One thing that the Trump administration could do is to reduce those restrictions. They could rapidly increase oil, natural gas and coal production on federal lands. They can also call on Congress to repeal the Antiquities Act, which was used to establish national monuments where mineral and oil and gas extraction can occur," Murray explained.

Trump's pitch was at least partially a suggestion that more energy production would lead to reduced energy prices.

This would almost certainly be the case, but it would also lead to an increase in emissions at a time when natural disasters regularly strike various parts of the country in large part because of climate change. Still, Trump and the Republican party more generally have never prioritized climate action, and "drill, baby, drill" seems like a signal that they will prioritize oil production over any climate mitigation measures.

While we don't know exactly how "drill, baby, drill" will translate into tangible policy, what seems clear is that Trump is going to prioritize oil over everything else. That might be good for our energy prices in the short term, but there are plenty of climate scientists who are concerned about what failure to mitigate climate change could mean for everyone in the long term.