← Videos · Energy & Permitting

Wright Delivers Remarks at the Great American Energy Comeback Rally in Midland, Texas, Aug. 17, 2026

August 17, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:14:04

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright delivered remarks at the Great American Energy Comeback Rally in Midland, Texas, in the Department of Energy’s upload of the August 17, 2026 event. Wright said he brought a message from President Trump for the people of the Permian Basin — “thank you, thank you, and thank you” — because, as he put it, “you make our world go round. You make our country energy secure.”

Wright said the most common question he receives from leaders abroad is whether the United States will be there to supply oil and natural gas as their economies grow, rather than leaving them to buy from foes and unstable countries — and that, because of the Permian’s workers, he can answer yes. He argued that oil and natural gas underpin everything from modern medicine to the reindustrialization of the United States, and noted he would next be at the opening of the first iron ore mine in 50 years in Minnesota, as he stated it.

Why it matters

Midland is the rally version of Wright’s governing case: the Permian Basin workforce presented not as one industry among many but as the reason the United States can make supply promises to allies — the human base underneath the export and security claims he makes in Washington and abroad.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Remarks at Great American Energy Comeback Rally in Midland, Texas” (official upload, embedded above; remarks as delivered by Secretary Wright).