Drill, Baby, Drill

About

Drill, Baby, Drill refers to a Republican catchphrase first used at the 2008 Republican National Convention by former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele to express his support for increased drilling for petroleum and gas as sources of additional energy. The line regained notoriety in late January 2025 after U.S. President Donald Trump used the pro-oil and gas slogan at his inauguration as the nation's 47th head of state. Shortly after Trump used the line, the phrase sparked numerous memes, online discussions and backlash against his vows to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Origin

The slogan "drill, baby, drill" first emerged on October 2nd, 2008, during the Republican National Convention (RNC),^[1] where it was prominently utilized by then-Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele to advocate for the benefit of the exploration of oil and gas resources. During the vice-presidential debate that year, Sarah Palin later popularized the slogan,^[2] calling for increased energy independence through domestic drilling.

On April 30th, 2010, the YouTube^[3] channel The Young Turks uploaded a video titled "Sarah Palin's 'Drill Baby Drill' Vs. Oil Spill," showing Palin's usage of the pro-oil slogan. The video (seen below) received more than 121,000 views and 1,200 likes in 15 years.

Spread

In the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, President Donald Trump frequently used the "drill, baby, drill" slogan during his campaign rallies, reinforcing his pro-oil and gas stance.

For instance, on October 22nd, 2024, the YouTube^[4] channel Forbes Breaking News posted a video showing a campaign rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in which Trump spoke about his energy policies and used the expression. The video (seen below) received roughly 20,000 views and 144 likes in four months.

Following Trump's inauguration as the nation's 47th President on January 20th, 2025, he reinstated his vow to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, using the "drill, baby, drill" slogan during his speech. X^[5] user @Artemisfornow posted a clip of the President's speech with the moment (seen below), which amassed over 355,000 views and 12,000 likes in a day.

The catchphrase sparked significant backlash online over the following hours and days, leading to a wave of memes and discourse that both mocked and supported Trump's energy policies.

For instance, on January 20th, 2025, X^[6] user @NikoEfst posted a series of photos representing the effects of climate change in the world, captioning it, "Trump: 'That is why today, I declare a national energy emergency. We will drill baby, drill.'" The post (seen below) amassed over 760 likes and 170 reposts in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References