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Hamm, who had
previously donated to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio's presidential
campaign, called the real estate mogul a "business leader's
candidate" who has the will to right what he called a series of
mistakes from politicians in Washington, including "burdensome
government regulations."
"The next president of the United States must have the courage,
determination and intelligence to disrupt politics as usual,"
Hamm wrote in a public letter.
"Such an honor to get the endorsement of Harold Hamm, one of the
great men in the history of the oil and energy business," Trump
said in a statement to Reuters.
Known for his outspoken views on U.S. energy policy and other
matters, Hamm once referred to OPEC leader Saudi Arabia as a
"toothless tiger" in the face of growing U.S. oil output.
OPEC and Saudia Arabia eventually proved Hamm wrong by using its
influence to keep prices low for more than 18 months and
counting, exerting sharp pain on U.S. oil producers. Hamm's
Continental is expected to post a quarterly loss next month.
Hamm's endorsement followed President Barack Obama's meeting
with Saudi Arabia's King Salman in Riyadh this week.
By endorsing Trump, Hamm has parted ways with former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican
candidate for the White House, who has vigorously opposed
Trump's candidacy.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Sneha Johny in Bengaluru;
editing by Terry Wade and Tom Brown)
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