Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania avoided questions about previous comments he and Vice President Kamala Harris have made against fracking during an interview on NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“It's really puzzling why we're still talking about fracking,” the Democratic senator said when asked about Sen. Harris' change of tack on the issue over the past few years. “In 2020, I said fracking might be an issue, but it wouldn't be the defining issue. And now, in 2024, we're still talking about fracking.”
Harris' comments come as she has faced criticism over her shifting stance on the issue of fracking in recent years, including supporting a fracking ban when she lost the 2020 presidential election, but vowing last month that she would not support such a ban.
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Senator John Fetterman (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
But in an interview Sunday, Fetterman insisted that fracking wasn't the issue at stake, instead pivoting to attack comments made by former President Trump and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
“The other side is talking about eating cats and geese and dogs and saying ridiculous things,” Fetterman said. “We're having serious policy discussions while the other side is raging.”
Fetterman has since faced shifts in his views on the issue, including calling fracking a “stain” on Pennsylvania in 2016 and saying he “doesn't support fracking at all” in 2018. But by 2022, Fetterman had changed his tune, NBC News noted, saying he “absolutely” supports fracking.
Vice President Kamala Harris waves during a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“What do you like about fracking?” Fetterman was asked.
“It's funny that some weirdo would take a quote out of context. I'm a United States senator right now who won by five points,” Fetterman replied. “I fully support fracking, and so does Vice President Harris,” Fetterman continued, again attacking the Republican candidate's “eat dog” claims.
Fetterman's home state of Pennsylvania, where fracking remains popular, is expected to play a key role in the November election. Trump narrowly won the state in 2016 and similarly narrowly lost the state to President Biden in 2020.
Former President Trump speaks at a rally in Uniondale, New York, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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Fetterman acknowledged that the race between Trump and Harris will be “very close,” but pushed back against the idea that the state's vote will be “decided by fracking.”
Harris currently holds a slim lead in the state with 48.3% support, 0.7 percentage points ahead of Trump's 47.6%, according to a Real Clear Politics polling average.
