Did Trump Suggest He Can Bribe Exxon Mobil? Oil Giant Shoots Down Hypothetical Phone Call

Oil giant Exxon Mobil on Monday refuted comments by President Donald Trump at an Arizona rally that he could hypothetically call the company for donations in exchange for favorable policies.

"So I call some guy, the head of Exxon. I call the head of Exxon. I don't know,” Trump said Monday at the rally. "'How are you doing? How's energy coming? When are you doing the exploration? Oh, you need a couple of permits?'"

The comments suggested the president could make a quid pro quo arrangement with Exxon Mobil and the hashtag #QuidProQuo even trended on Twitter.

"When I call the head of Exxon I say, 'You know, I'd love [for you] to send me $25 million for the campaign.' 'Absolutely sir,'" Trump said at the rally. "I will 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."

"We are aware of the President's statement regarding a hypothetical call with our CEO…and just so we're all clear, it never happened," Exxon tweeted in response.

The comments have drawn scrutiny due to Trump's past relationship with Exxon Mobil. Former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson served as Trump's first secretary of state despite no government experience. In March 2017, the Trump administration and Exxon Mobil had issued press releases that were nearly identical.

CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale dispelled the argument made by critics that Trump's comments were a confession of wrongdoing.

"[Trump] was clearly not admitting here to corruption or an actual deal with Exxon,” Dale tweeted.

The rally comments come as Trump lags in fundraising behind Democratic nominee Joe Biden. The Biden campaign raised $383 million in September, while the Trump campaign brought in $248 million.

The Trump campaign is spending $55 million on an advertising blitz in the last two weeks of the race. In terms of TV ad spending, his campaign is being massively outspent by Biden's campaign.