--- title: T. Boone Pickens Backs Donald Trump's Muslim Ban description: The oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens said he supports Donald Trump for president and agreed with his his call for a temporary ban on Muslims canonical: https://time.com/4328056/t-boone-pickets-donald-trump-muslim-ban/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-12T17:02:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:09:13.578Z article:section: Politics og:title: Oil Tycoon T. Boone Pickens Backs Donald Trump's Muslim Ban og:description: "I don’t see that impacting the economy at all" og:url: https://time.com/4328056/t-boone-pickets-donald-trump-muslim-ban/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc148815550da68f6/698892f4ab6d77d8fd6a9ac4/t-boone-pickens-trump-muslim-ban.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Key Speakers At The 2016 SALT Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Oil Tycoon T. Boone Pickens Backs Donald Trump's Muslim Ban twitter:description: "I don’t see that impacting the economy at all" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc148815550da68f6/698892f4ab6d77d8fd6a9ac4/t-boone-pickens-trump-muslim-ban.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Oil Tycoon T. Boone Pickens Backs Donald Trump's Muslim Ban > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=2f81a7f2-4657-4744-bb38-80ca5bd140b7&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A More "Presidentially Correct" Trump? [Watch (HLS stream): A More "Presidentially Correct" Trump?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Jq72wMzX.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2016-05-05. We're tracking Trump statements with Time's Presidential-o-Meter to see how "Presidentially Correct" he can sound._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell May 12, 2016 5:02 PM UTC by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell May 12, 2016 5:02 PM UTC The oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens said on Wednesday he supports Donald Trump’s campaign for president and agreed with his his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. Pickens, who is the chief executive officer of BP Capital, said at a hedge fund conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday that he agrees with Trump that Muslims should be banned from entering the United States while they are vetted. “Cut them off so we can figure out who they are coming in,” Pickens told reporters at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference, [Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-11/oil-tycoon-pickens-backs-trump-call-for-temporary-ban-on-muslims) reports. “We’ve got plenty of people here. We’ve got a good economy and Muslims coming into the U.S. I don’t see that impacting the economy at all.” Legal scholars have debated whether such an unprecedented rule would be constitutional. Pickens, who made his money in the oil industry, is also an adamant opponent of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. “If I don’t get Donald Trump, with change, I’m going to get Hillary Clinton,” Pickens said in a [Bloomberg Television interview](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-11/oil-tycoon-pickens-backs-trump-call-for-temporary-ban-on-muslims). “Now tell me, who are you going to vote for? There is no way you can vote for her.” Pickens, who was on the [cover of TIME in 1985](http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19850304,00.html) and was a [TIME 100 honoree in 2009](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410%5F1893837%5F1894159,00.html), supported former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s run for president. On Wednesday he said Trump has done well in business—though he has had multiple bankruptcies—and that should be an indication for his economic policy. “So you judge a trapper by his pelt,” Pickens said. \[[Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-11/oil-tycoon-pickens-backs-trump-call-for-temporary-ban-on-muslims)\] ## Transcript So there have been reports that you've been getting pressure from your staff to act more presidential, is that the case? Do you need to act more presidential? No, no, not at all. We have had no pressure to act more presidential. The Trump administration will lead a free world. Sir, with all due respect, that's the argument of a five year old. I didn't start it. That is properly armed and funded. Every parent knows a kid who says he- That's not a five year old. Excuse me, when I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second class citizen will end. Now I have a lot of friends, by the way, Mitt Romney is not one of them. Did he choke? I would like to talk today about how to develop a new foreign policy direction for our country. We can't continue to allow. To rape our country. One that replaces randomness with purpose. Ideology with strategy and chaos with peace. Here's a guy, throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else. I'd like to punch him in the face. The countries we are defending must pay For the cost of this defense. We're gonna knock the **** out of ISIS. [ APPLAUSE ] Gonna knock the **** out of them. Governor Kasich and Senator Cruz have really, really hurt themselves. Somebody has to be where the belt's going in because the belt moves this way. It moves this way. [ LAUGH ] It moves that way. We have won millions of more votes than Senator Cruz, a lying Ted, lying. He's a lying guy! I felt that I had to hit back very hard, but at the right time I will be so presidential you will be so bored. 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