Rev. Franklin Graham called for America's return to energy independence like when former President Donald Trump was in office.

Graham shared the words during a stop in Alaska in which he thanked the Biden administration for approving three proposed oil drilling sites in the state.

Rev. Franklin Graham urged a return to American energy independence Tuesday, as we had “when President Trump was in office.” https://t.co/kJOgwbZnBl

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 14, 2023

The comments

“I believe we should be using the resources God has given us and striving for energy independence, as we were when President Trump was in office,” Graham stated. “There’s no reason we can’t do this.”

“And I’m all for exploring alternate sources of energy for the future,” he noted. “As Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan said, it is ‘national security suicide’ to be dependent on countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for oil.”

While I’m in Alaska, I’m glad to see this bit of good news and common sense! Yesterday the Biden administration approved opening up three proposed oil drilling sites in Alaska. Thank you President @JoeBiden! https://t.co/xOgI5gwKQH

— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) March 14, 2023

The projects

"The Biden administration on Monday gave the green light to a sprawling oil drilling project in Alaska, opening the nation's largest expanse of untouched land to energy production," NBC News announced.

"The multibillion-dollar project will be located inside the National Petroleum Reserve, about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and could produce nearly 600 million barrels of crude oil over the next 30 years, according to the Interior Department," it added.

The approved project is about 40% smaller than the original request but marks a major change in Biden's climate activism that has pushed to stop nearly all new drilling in the U.S.

Biden to sign off on $8 billion oil drilling project in Alaska: reports https://t.co/o48hf6IcYE pic.twitter.com/HJyXhpkExm

— New York Post (@nypost) March 12, 2023

"The project has the backing of Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation and from a majority of Alaska Natives who live on the North Slope," according to the New York Post.

"The tribes herald the project as a possible source of much-needed revenue and jobs for the region," it added. "Biden, 80, who last year pushed through a $369 billion package of environmental projects, including subsidies for electric vehicles, has so far during his presidency largely stood in the way of oil-related projects."

The latest move has certainly triggered climate activists on the left who see the project as a compromise by the president.

Many other Americans are grateful for the new projects that will allow new oil production and could soon decrease dependence on other nations.