Trump demands share of profits in exchange for Keystone approval

Donald Trump says he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline project as president as long as the United States receives a large chunk of oil revenue in exchange.  

Trump said Thursday at a press conference before an energy speech in North Dakota that he would “absolutely approve [Keystone] 100 percent, but I want a better deal.”

{mosads}The presumptive GOP presidential nominee said that the U.S. would be doing more for the oil pipeline project, a proposal from Canadian energy firm TransCanada, than just approving it.  

Because it would run along American land, Trump said, the U.S. deserves “a piece of the profits, because we’re making it happen.” 

He said President Obama, who in November formally rejected a permit for Keystone to cross into the U.S., “doesn’t know what the hell he is doing.”

“I want the Keystone pipeline, but the people of the United States should be given a significant piece of the profits,” Trump said.

“That’s how we’re going to make our country rich again, and it’s how we’re going to make America great again.”