Trump Criticizes Exxon and Chevron Profits, But Own Policies Are to Blame

President Donald Trump has criticized Exxon and Chevron for their record profits during the current oil price surge, but his own policies are largely responsible for the companies' windfalls.

The two oil giants reported quarterly earnings of $12.1 billion and $14.5 billion, respectively, with much of the gains attributed to Trump's 2017 tax law that slashed their corporate income tax rate from 35 to 21 percent.

In the five years between 2021 and 2025, ExxonMobil and Chevron collectively raked in $124 billion of U.S. income and paid an effective federal tax rate of just 7.4 percent, with much of their profits shielded from taxes by bonus depreciation tax breaks created by Trump's corporate tax cuts.

In fact, the companies' combined tax savings over this period was $34 billion, with Chevron alone avoiding paying an additional $17 billion in taxes that would have been owed at the pre-2017 rate of 35 percent.