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Daniel Turner

Daniel Turner

Credentials

Background

Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of the United States-based nonprofit Power the Future, a 501(c)(4) energy advocacy organization with the stated mission of “offering truth, facts, and research that will enrich the national conversation on energy.” According to his LinkedIn profile, Daniel Turner’s specialty is “public relations and story telling.”6“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Daniel Turner launched Power the Future in February 2018. At the time, Turner told E&E News that Power the Future’s focus is on “telling the story of the men and women in the energy space … which has been villainized by the environmental left.”7”Sam Mintz. “Conservative energy group gears up to fight enviros,” E&E News, March 5, 2018.

Turner is an alumnus of the Charles Koch Institute. According to his LinkedIn profile, some of Turner’s past positions include director of strategic communications for the Charles Koch Institute from 2015 to 2017, and vice president of communications from 2013 to 2015 for the non-profit Generation Opportunity,8“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. a 501(c)(4) organization funded by Freedom Partners, a multimillion-dollar Koch-tied funding vehicle..9“GenOpp, Too: Another Group Almost Wholly Funded by Koch Network,” OpenSecrets.org, May 13, 2014. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/eiPtz

Also according to his LinkedIn profile, Turner has held several political roles. His profile lists him as director of public affairs for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s transition team in 2012, as well as network and cable liaison director for the 2012 Republican National Convention, and a media position in the U.S. Department of State from 2007-2009, during the Bush administration. He also notes a role as advisor to his uncle Bob Turner during the elder Turner’s runs to represent New York’s 9th congressional district. 10“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Turner lost to Democrat Anthony Weiner in 2010, then won the seat in 2011 after Weiner resigned. 11Errol Louis. “Why the Dems lost Weiner’s seat,” CNN, September 14 2011. Archived October 6, 2022. Archive URL: http://archive.today/hHVO5

As a non-profit incorporated as a 501(c)(4) organization, Power the Future is not required to reveal its funding sources. In a March 2018 interview with E&E News, Turner would not identify individual donors, or discuss whether the Koch brothers were among them. Turner said that he had raised “several million dollars” in seed funding from donors who “care deeply about the energy industry from a national perspective, and they care about the activism of these well-organized, ridiculously well-funded groups and the damage they do to our national conversation.”12Sam Mintz. “Conservative energy group gears up to fight enviros,” E&E News, March 5, 2018.

Stance on Climate Change

August 14, 2018

During a Commonsense Conversation Coalition talk show, Turner claimed there is “no scientific proof” for climate change:13“BETH ANN VISITS WITH DANIEL TURNER OF POWER THE FUTURE ABOUT THE NEED FOR ENERGY,” CSC Tak Radio, August 14, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“You see these green activists that dedicate their lives to climate change when there are real problems facing the world. That threat, the terrorism threats. But threats of things like cancer, threats of things like heart disease. Why are autism rates skyrocketing? We have so many threats facing this nation that I just scratch my head and wonder why you would dedicate yourself to a cause when there is no scientific proof for it?”

2018

Turner has been vocal about his views on climate change on social media. Below are some sample Twitter posts from 2018:

Democrats like Bernie Sanders think climate change is our biggest threat. Not open borders, North Korea or radical Islamists.

Talk about out of touch!

— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) October 26, 2018

The climate change hysteria may raise big bucks from liberal donors, but the American voters will always choose more jobs & low energy prices over more regulation & high energy prices!

— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) October 23, 2018

Every day I am thankful that @realDonaldTrump pulled us out of the disastrous Paris Climate Accord.

— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) April 16, 2018

Key Quotes

August 14, 2018

“The language they use around climate change is extremely unscientific language. When they talk about scientific consensus. For me, scientific consensus as the same as those commercials that used to say four out of five dentists agree that this is the best toothpaste. That’s not scientific. Right? So there is no such thing as consensus in the scientific method,” Turner said on the Commonsense Conversation Coalition talk show. 

“When you don’t agree with them, what do they call you? They call you a denier. Or they said you don’t believe in it. Well, you believe in things that require faith. Some people don’t believe in Jesus. Some people don’t believe in Buddha. If it’s scientific, then belief doesn’t even enter into the conversation. And so even the language that the climate change activists use is completely unscientific. And so, you know, you find me a scientist and pay him to tell you ‘X’, I can find a scientist and pay him to tell me ‘Y’.”14“BETH ANN VISITS WITH DANIEL TURNER OF POWER THE FUTURE ABOUT THE NEED FOR ENERGY,” CSC Talk Radio, August 14, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

October 2018

Daniel Turner posted many tweets supporting the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice, sometimes including the #ConfirmKavanaugh hash tag:

I love when I wake up in the morning and Donald Trump is President.

Starting tomorrow, I will love when I wake up in the morning and Brett Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court.

— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) October 6, 2018

Democrats have tried to destroy the reputation of Brett Kavanaugh and his family.

We must make sure to destroy them in November. #RedWave #ConfirmKavanaugh

— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) October 1, 2018

Key Deeds

April 14, 2020

Daniel Turner wrote an op-ed for Real Clear Energy suggesting that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan to increase renewable energy use in the U.S. was “discriminatory (and dare I say it? Can I say it? Racist).”15“Bernie Sanders’ Green Energy Poverty,” Real Clear Energy, April 14, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/IO4vM

“Going green costs people a lot of money, and it targets underprivileged communities most of all,” Turner claimed. He concluded: “Bernie’s campaign is done. His terrible, expensive, even deadly ideas live on. And we as a nation are no better for it.”16“Bernie Sanders’ Green Energy Poverty,” Real Clear Energy, April 14, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/IO4vM

January 4, 2020

Fox News published an op-ed by Turner speculating that recent comments by Joe Biden about the coal industry would ensure his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, should he become the Democratic nominee.17Daniel Turner. “Daniel Turner: Biden’s pledge to destroy coal jobs could destroy his presidential hopes,” FoxNews, January 4, 2020. Archived January 4, 2020. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/TWWHP

Speaking at a campaign event in New Hampshire, Biden had suggested that coal miners should learn new computer skills as the nation’s energy industry shifted away from coal.18Daniel Turner. “Daniel Turner: Biden’s pledge to destroy coal jobs could destroy his presidential hopes,” FoxNews, January 4, 2020. Archived January 4, 2020. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/TWWHP

Turner compared Biden’s remarks to similar statements made by Hillary Clinton during her 2016 bid for the White House:19Daniel Turner. “Daniel Turner: Biden’s pledge to destroy coal jobs could destroy his presidential hopes,” FoxNews, January 4, 2020. Archived January 4, 2020. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/TWWHP

“History repeats itself, so Biden or whoever else gets the Democratic presidential nomination will likely follow in Clinton’s losing footsteps as a result of their determination to drive the coal industry into extinction and drive all those who make a living from coal into unemployment. […] How thoughtful. Kind of like Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, supposedly responding when told that her hungry subjects had no bread during a famine: ‘Let them eat cake.’ Marie’s career as queen did not end well – she was executed by the guillotine in the French Revolution in 1793.”20Daniel Turner. “Daniel Turner: Biden’s pledge to destroy coal jobs could destroy his presidential hopes,” FoxNews, January 4, 2020. Archived January 4, 2020. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/TWWHP

February 25, 2019

Fox News ran an op-ed by Turner about what he believed to be “Trump’s best message going into 2020.”21Daniel Turner. “THIS is Trump’s best message going into 2020 (and he didn’t even write it),” Fox News, February 25, 2019. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/ke1PO

“Trump 2020’s winning message is this: ‘My opponent supports the ‘Green New Deal.’,” Turner wrote.

“Pundits and energy experts have rightly mocked the ‘Green New Deal’ as more a socialist manifesto than a policy. After all, it includes everything from forcing net-zero carbon emissions in a decade (impossible), to a government takeover of health care, to paying those ‘unwilling’ to work. “

He concluded:

“Trump will use the ‘Green New Deal’ to his electoral advantage, and he should. It is a sophomoric, outlandish and fairly un-American proposal. The left’s efforts to elevate the ‘Green New Deal’ to the 2020 campaign is both a policy debacle and a repeat of Clinton’s political blunder.”

January 31, 2019

Turner was a guest on the Tucker Carlson show on Fox News, The Daily Caller reported. When asked if it was feasible to switch to renewables in the near future, Turner said:22Mike Brest. “TUCKER’S GUEST SAYS ‘THE TECHNOLOGY DOESN’T EXIST’ TO IMPLEMENT THE ‘GREEN NEW DEAL’,” The Daily Caller, January 31, 2019. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/4W076

“Not at all. The technology doesn’t exist right now…when Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says we are going to power the entire country on renewables there just isn’t the land to come up with the solar farm or the wind necessary to have these renewables. So the science just does not equate to how we run our economy.”23Mike Brest. “TUCKER’S GUEST SAYS ‘THE TECHNOLOGY DOESN’T EXIST’ TO IMPLEMENT THE ‘GREEN NEW DEAL’,” The Daily Caller, January 31, 2019. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/4W076

View video below.24Mike Brest. “TUCKER’S GUEST SAYS ‘THE TECHNOLOGY DOESN’T EXIST’ TO IMPLEMENT THE ‘GREEN NEW DEAL’,” The Daily Caller, January 31, 2019. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/4W076

December 10, 2018

In a Fox News op-ed, Turner suggested that the “yellow vest” protests in France should “be a lesson for green activists in the US.”25Daniel Turner. “France ‘yellow vest’ protests should be a lesson for green activists in the US,” Fox News, December 10, 2018. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/xV6Ms

According to Turner, “Left-wing climate groups in America like the Sierra Club and the Sunrise Movement, as well as far-left politicians like Tom Steyer, Michael Bloomberg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, want to bring French-style carbon taxes to America.26Daniel Turner. “France ‘yellow vest’ protests should be a lesson for green activists in the US,” Fox News, December 10, 2018. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/xV6Ms

“The protests in France should be a lesson for green activists here in America – people simply do not want these radical taxes forced on them.”27Daniel Turner. “France ‘yellow vest’ protests should be a lesson for green activists in the US,” Fox News, December 10, 2018. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/xV6Ms

August 7, 2018

Turner was listed as a speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s upcoming “America First Energy Conference” (AFEC 2018) in New Orleans, Louisiana, but later appeared to have withdrawn from the event.28“Speakers,” America First Energy Conference 2018. Archived July 23, 2018.

According to conference materials, the purpose of the conference was “to promote and expand energy freedom in the United States, as outlined in President Donald Trump’s bold America First Energy Plan, a proposal first released during the 2016 presidential campaign. The president’s plan marks a decisive change in direction from the Obama administration’s ‘war on fossil fuels’ and focus on the theory of catastrophic man-caused climate change,” the conference description reads.29“About,” America First Energy Conference 2018. Archived July 23, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/E4Gnt

August 4, 2018

Daniel Turner appeared on an episode of Commonsense Conversation Coalition talk radio to discuss “the climate change hoax” with host Beth Ann.30“BETH ANN VISITS WITH DANIEL TURNER OF POWER THE FUTURE ABOUT THE NEED FOR ENERGY,” CSC Tak Radio, August 14, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

July 19, 2018

Turner was a guest on an episode of the Heartland Institute podcast titled “Time to Reject EPA and Tom Steyer.” Listen to the audio below:31“TIME TO REJECT EPA AND TOM STEYER (GUEST: DANIEL TURNER),” The Heartland Institute, July 19, 2018. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

During the podcast, Turner said that Power the Future, the non-profit organization he had founded, emerged in response to protests against the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, stating “what started this was, I saw a real lack of authenticity in the environmental protest groups.”32“TIME TO REJECT EPA AND TOM STEYER (GUEST: DANIEL TURNER),” The Heartland Institute, July 19, 2018. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Turner said he was particularly concerned about workers and communities affected by the closure of coal mines or oil drilling, and blamed environmentalists for “inauthenticity:”33“TIME TO REJECT EPA AND TOM STEYER (GUEST: DANIEL TURNER),” The Heartland Institute, July 19, 2018. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

“There is evidence that when the environmentalists ‘win’, America loses without a doubt, but specifically these small towns and these people lose tremendously. So I started Power the Future to fight for both things: to fight for energy workers and their rights, but also to unmask the inauthenticity of these green radical groups.”34“TIME TO REJECT EPA AND TOM STEYER (GUEST: DANIEL TURNER),” The Heartland Institute, July 19, 2018. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Referring to climate and environmental initiatives like the Obama administration’s “cash for clunkers” program, which provided economic incentives for trading in older, less fuel-efficient, and more polluting automotive vehicles for new and more fuel-efficient models, Turner claimed that such programs were bad for poor and working class Americans:35“TIME TO REJECT EPA AND TOM STEYER (GUEST: DANIEL TURNER),” The Heartland Institute, July 19, 2018. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

“All these green initiatives always hurt…either the poor or regular working class people, and who advocated for them?” [12:30]36“TIME TO REJECT EPA AND TOM STEYER (GUEST: DANIEL TURNER),” The Heartland Institute, July 19, 2018. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Burnett and Turner termed green initiatives proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “troubling.” Regarding Ocasio-Cortez’s discussion of the U.S. being fossil fuel free by 2035, Turner said, “it’s just sheer stupidity to make these claims and then get applauded for them.”37“TIME TO REJECT EPA AND TOM STEYER (GUEST: DANIEL TURNER),” The Heartland Institute, July 19, 2018. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

Turner added, “This claim that in 17 years we’re going to get rid of all fossil fuels — to be patted on the back for just nonsense like that, it’s just exhausting.” 38“TIME TO REJECT EPA AND TOM STEYER (GUEST: DANIEL TURNER),” The Heartland Institute, July 19, 2018. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

April 2018

Power the Future launched the website “Steyerville,” promising to “to highlight the damage Tom Steyer is doing to rural America.”39“What Is Steyerville?” Steyerville. Archived April 16, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/dVEY9

Tom Steyer is a billionaire U.S. hedge fund manager, philanthropist, climate activist, and one-time Democratic presidential hopeful.

The website read in part:

“Steyerville is a real place in the American heartland: a rural community where multiple generations of men and women worked in the same industry: energy. Coal miners in Appalachia or Navajo Natives in New Mexico. Oil workers in the Louisiana Bayou or the central valley of California. These close-knit communities produce the energy that fuels our entire way of life. But their livelihood was taken.

“We made Steyerville to put these communities- literally and figuratively- on the map. The site is well researched and documented, and will continue to grow to highlight the damage Tom Steyer is doing to rural America

“And we named it Steyerville to make it clear: he destroyed this community. Tom Steyer and the billionaire funders like him: Mike Bloomberg, George Soros, and countless Hollywood elites, who paid activists and phony protesters to pressure political leaders to enact their agenda. The activists left, the protesters are gone, and destroyed communities Tom Steyer cannot find on a map nor would Mike Bloomberg deign to land his private jet near suffer the consequences of their activism. He built this, and so we named it after him, to hold him accountable, to shame him for his actions, and to hopefully stop him from doing it again.”

The website’s initial materials Steyerville focused on communities in three states: West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Power the Future Executive Director Daniel Turner told the Free Beacon that he planned to expand the campaign’s reach: “We are starting in these three states, but plan to expand nationwide. New York, New Mexico, Texas, Wyoming, Louisiana all have Steyervilles: towns where Steyer pays activists to prevent the energy industry from operating.”40“‘Steyerville’: New Website Blames Tom Steyer for Killing Towns of American Heartland,” The Washington Free Beacon, April 12, 2018. Archived April 16, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/ysoFz

Turner also said that Steyerville would run geo-targeted advertising in areas that Steyer visited.41“‘Steyerville’: New Website Blames Tom Steyer for Killing Towns of American Heartland,” The Washington Free Beacon, April 12, 2018. Archived April 16, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/ysoFz

February 26, 2018

Daniel Turner was featured in a One News Now broadcast that promoted Power the Future (video below).42“Daniel Turner on One News Now,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Power the Future,” February 26, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Turner described the organization as a “pushback to hold accountable some of these radical environmental groups that come into small towns in America and close coal mines.” He claimed these groups “take away all your rights” and contribute to “jobs disappearing and communities in rural America really struggling.”43“Daniel Turner on One News Now,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Power the Future,” February 26, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

February 2018

Power the Future launched with an exclusive announcement distributed by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Founder Daniel Turner told The Daily Caller that he planned to tell the stories of workers and communities that produce fossil fuels, as well as targeting funding efforts by Tom Steyer and environmentalists advocating an end to use of fossil fuels.44Michael Bastasch. “EXCLUSIVE: A New Group Wants To Give Rural Americans A Voice And Bring The Fight To The Eco-Left,” The Daily Caller, February 18, 2018. Archived April 16, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/etAbF

“There’s a tremendous arrogance in these activists…just a few months ago they all flew to Paris to demand we cut back on using energy. Either none of them have Skype or they think good intentions fuel their planes.”

“Meanwhile out in rural America there are guys working 12 hour shifts who make these elites’ lifestyles and their activism possible. And they don’t even get a thank you.”45Michael Bastasch. “EXCLUSIVE: A New Group Wants To Give Rural Americans A Voice And Bring The Fight To The Eco-Left,” The Daily Caller, February 18, 2018. Archived April 16, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/etAbF

Turner said Power the Future’s activities would initially focus on New Mexico, and then expand to Oklahoma and Louisiana. 

The Power the Future campaign launched with an initial video titled “New Mexico energy”:

Affiliations

  • Power the Future — Founder and executive director.46“Daniel Turner,” Power the Future, February 14, 2019. Archived February 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/eCCVj
  • DC Event Hub — Director of events and venue marketing, February 2017 – March 201747“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • Charles Koch Institute — Director of strategic communications, January 2015 – January 2017.48“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • Generation Opportunity — Vice president of communications, April 2013 – January 201549“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • Booz Allen Hamilton — Associate, 2009 – April 201350“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • Romney Transition Team — Director of public affairs, September 2012 – November 201251“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • Republican National Convention — Network and cable liaison director, May 2012 – September 2012.52“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • Bob Turner for Congress — Advisor, 2010 – 201153“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • Bush Administration — “Build media and public affairs strategies to promote the US foreign policy,” 2007 – January 200954“Daniel Turner,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Social Media

Publications

See Daniel Turner’s profile at InsideSources. He has also written for other conservative news publications including Fox News, and has been featured in The Daily Caller. 

Other Resources

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Profile image screengrab via YouTube.

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