Watch: Kamala Harris Fact-Checked On Fracking During Pennsylvania Town Hall

Last Updated:October 24, 2024, 12:04 IST

Kamala Harris said, “No, Anderson, I pledged that I would not ban fracking,” when she was campaigning as the vice presidential nominee in 2020

Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN town hall event in Aston, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 23, 2024. (Reuters)

US broadcaster CNN on Wednesday fact-checked Kamala Harris after the Democratic Presidential candidate claimed during a town hall that she pledged in 2020 that she wouldn’t ban fracking.

Ahead of the presidential elections starting November 5, Harris was pressed on the issue of fracking during her interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Responding to Cooper, Harris said she pledged to “not ban fracking” during her campaign as the vice presidential nominee in 2020.

Fact Checked

According to CNN, the 60-year-old leader did not make her position on fracking clear during her 2020 debate. The US broadcaster said that the Indian-American leader never explicitly stated a personal position on fracking during the presidential debate.

Instead, Kamala had said that Joe Biden, the head of the Democratic ticket at the time, would not ban fracking if he was elected president. “Joe Biden will not end fracking,” and “I will repeat, and the American people know, that Joe Biden will not ban fracking,” Harris said during the 2020 vice presidential debate. Back in 2019, during the Democratic presidential primary, Harris had said “There’s no question I’m in favour of banning fracking.”

To Frack or Not To Frack

Slamming Harris for changing her position on fracking, CNN senior reporter Daniel Dale, in a post on X, said “Harris falsely claimed tonight that she pledged in 2020 she wouldn’t ban fracking. She actually said in 2020 that Biden wouldn’t ban fracking, never saying she’d changed her own pro-ban position.”

This criticism comes as the Harris campaign has flip-flopped once again on fracking, with a key official admitting the US vice president is not vouching for its expansion. According to the New York Post, fracking is a hot-button issue in the must-win Keystone State, where it supports around 123,000 jobs and led to more than $41 billion in 2022 economic activity.

Trump a ‘fascist’

On Wednesday, Harris called Donald Trump a “fascist” and warned that her US election rival was “increasingly unstable” as she addressed his reported praise for Adolf Hitler at a town hall event. The Democrat’s fierce criticism came as she answered voters’ questions on Trump’s suitability for office and past remarks at the CNN-hosted event in must-win Pennsylvania.

Acknowledging voters’ concerns on a variety of top election issues, the vice president said: “They also care about our democracy and not having a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.” At her prime-time CNN event, Harris cited numerous former Trump administration officials, including his national security advisor and vice president, who have warned that Trump should not be returned to office.

“They have said explicitly he has contempt for the Constitution of the United States,” she said. “They have said he should never again serve as president of the United States.” She added: “I believe Donald Trump is a danger to the well-being and security of America.”

A key swing state

Trump — who declined to appear in his own CNN town hall — hit back at a rally in Georgia, a key swing state the 78-year-old Republican won in 2016 and then narrowly lost to President Joe Biden four years later. He attacked Harris over her economic policy and dusted off his catchphrase from his days on the NBC reality TV show “The Apprentice” as he exhorted the crowd in Duluth to tell Harris: “You’re fired!”

“You have to stand up and you have to tell Kamala Harris that, ‘Kamala, you’ve done a horrible job. You’re the worst ever. There’s never been anybody like you… Kamala, you’re fired. Get out,'” he thundered. Some 26.5 million Americans have already voted by mail or in person, more than a million of them in Pennsylvania.

(With agency inputs)

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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