A five-year-old video of Vice President Harris touting her support for a ban on fracking resurfaced on social media over the weekend, highlighting an issue that has plagued her as she seeks the White House.
“Climate change is the greatest threat facing the world today, and that's why I'm committed to passing a Green New Deal, creating clean jobs, and finally ending fracking,” Harris said during an appearance on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show in September 2019.
Harris, who was then a senator from California and running for the Democratic presidential nomination, had touted her support for a fracking ban elsewhere on the campaign trail, including during a CNN town hall meeting earlier that month, where she said, “There's no question that I'm in favor of a fracking ban.”
NBC's Chuck Todd criticizes Kamala Harris for “mistake” in avoiding coverage: “Any missteps” will be “fully scrutinized.”
Vice President Harris (Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)
During the “Tonight Show” appearance, which was debunked by conservative commentators over the weekend, Harris also voiced her support for the Green New Deal, a controversial proposal popularized by progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
But the fracking ban has been Harris' thorniest issue during the presidential campaign, and in an interview with CNN last month, the vice president reversed course and vowed not to pursue a fracking ban.
“What I've seen is that we can grow and we can increase our clean energy economy without banning fracking,” Harris said.
Vice President Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leadership Conference in Washington on September 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
Kamala Harris gives first CNN interview after weeks of avoiding the press, with Tim Waltz joining
The issue of banning fracking is even more important in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, where the natural gas extraction method is a source of jobs and enjoys widespread support.
Harris currently has 48.3% support in Pennsylvania, less than a percentage point ahead of former President Trump's 47.6%, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, speaks at a rally in Uniondale, New York, on September 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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Trump has capitalized on Harris's calls for a ban on fracking in recent weeks, claiming during a debate last week that if she were elected president, “fracking will end in Pennsylvania on day one.”
