In her first interview since joining the Democratic presidential ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated that she would not implement a fracking ban if elected, asserting that she had “clearly” communicated her position during the 2020 campaign.
“No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020 that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking,” Harris stated.
However, before she ended her own presidential campaign in 2019 and became President Biden’s running mate, Harris expressed a different stance. During a CNN town hall, she indicated strong support for banning fracking from her first day in office.
“And starting with what we can do on day one around public lands, right?” she elaborated. “There would need to be legislation, but yes, that’s an issue I’ve tackled in California. I have a background of addressing this issue, and we must recognize the significant impact that fracking has on the health and safety of our communities.”
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CNN host Dana Bash questioned Harris about her 2019 comments, prompting Harris to assert that she had been “clear” about her stance on fracking while campaigning as Biden’s vice-presidential candidate.
“In 2020, I made my position very clear. Now, in 2024, that stance remains unchanged, even as we’ve moved forward. I’ve kept my promise, and I will continue to do so,” Harris added.
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“Let me be clear. My values remain unchanged. I firmly believe that we must take the climate crisis seriously and take action to address it. We can do this by building on what we’ve already achieved. Through initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act, we’ve committed, in my estimation, over a trillion dollars over the next decade to invest in a clean energy economy. So far, we’ve created over 300,000 new clean energy jobs,” Harris stated.
During the 2020 vice-presidential debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence, Harris was asked about fracking but did not clarify her stance. Instead, she emphasized that Biden would not impose a fracking ban. A review of the 2020 debate transcript by Fox News Digital showed “fracking” was mentioned nine times, with Harris using the term twice.
“Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that,” Harris said during the 2020 debate.
“I will repeat, and the American people know that Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact,” she reiterated later in the debate.
Harris appeared alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for the interview, which took place just 68 days before Election Day. Since Biden exited the race last month, propelling her to the top of the ticket, Harris has mostly stayed out of the media spotlight.
This CNN interview marks her first in-depth conversation with the media. It’s been 39 days since she last held a press conference, which occurred when she first emerged as the presumptive nominee.
Last week, Harris traveled to Chicago to officially accept her party’s nomination during the Democratic National Convention.
