Vice President Kamala Harris vowed Thursday that she would “not ban fracking” if elected president – a major reversal from her position during her first White House run.
“As vice president I did not ban fracking. As president I will not ban fracking,” Harris said in her first interview since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Harris’ latest position on fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is diametrically opposed to her stance on the oil and gas extraction technique during her 2019 Democratic presidential primary campaign.
However, the Democratic nominee claimed in her back and forth with CNN’s Dana Bash that she made her position on fracking “clear on the debate stage in 2020” – which she argued was “that I would not ban fracking.”
“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” the then-presidential candidate told a climate activist at a CNN town hall in 2019.
The vice president’s position on fracking is key to her electability in the oil-rich battleground state of Pennsylvania, which has 19 Electoral College votes up for grabs in November and could decide the winner of the race.
“In 2020, I made very clear where I stand,” Harris said in her sitdown with CNN’s Dana Bash. “We are in 2024 and I’m not changing that position nor will I going forward. I kept my word and I will keep my word.”
When asked what made her flip-flop on fracking, Harris asserted, “My values have not changed.”
The 59-year-old vice president went on to explain that she now believes it is possible for the government to “guard against what is a clear crisis in terms of the climate” while also allowing fracking.
“What we’ve already done –creating over 300,000 new clean energy jobs – that tells me from my experience as vice president, we can do it without banning fracking,” Harris said.
“I cast the tie breaking vote that actually increased releases for fracking as vice president,” she continued.
When pressed a second time about what made her shift her position, Harris reiterated her belief that fracking can coexist with a “clean energy economy.”
“What I have seen is that we can grow and we can increase a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking,” Harris said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.
