On Monday, speaking in a warehouse in Pennsylvania, a state where many jobs have been gained because of fracking, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden snapped, “There’s a place for the energy workers right here in Pennsylvania. I am not banning fracking. Let me say that again. I am not banning fracking. No matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me.”
Here’s a look at some of the responses Biden has offered over the last couple of years about fracking:
On January 24, 2020, speaking to a New Hampshire voter, Biden said he would stop fracking. The woman voter asked, “But like, what about, say, stopping fracking?”
Biden answered, “Yes.”
Woman voter: “And stopping pipeline infrastructure?”
Biden: “Yes.”
On March 15, 2020, a Democratic presidential debate between Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders was hosted by CNN, moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper. During that debate, there was this exchange:
Sanders: What this moment is about Joe, is that the scientists are telling us they underestimated the severity of the crisis. They were wrong. The problem is more severe. So all that I’m saying right here is that we are fighting for the future of this planet, for the wellbeing of our kids and future generations. You cannot continue, as I understand Joe believes, to continue fracking, correct me if I’m wrong. What we need to do right now is bringing the world together, tell the fossil fuel industry that we are going to move aggressively to win solar, sustainable energies-
Tapper: Thank you.
Sanders: … and energy efficiency.
Tapper: Thank you Senator.
Biden: No more, no new fracking.
Also in that debate, Biden stated, “Number one, no more subsidies for fossil fuel industry. No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including offshore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period, ends, number one.”
In December 2019, Biden said of coal miners, “Anybody who can go down 300 to 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well…Give me a break! Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God’s sake!”
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At a Democratic presidential debate in late July 2019, CNN’s Dana Bash asked Biden, “Just to clarify, would there be any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking, in a Biden administration?”
Biden answered, “No. We would — we would work it out. Make sure it’s eliminated and no more subsidies for either one of those. Either — any fossil fuel.”
Biden told a story at the beginning of his remarks on Monday about President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. Biden said, “In the early days of World War II, Franklin Roosevelt told the country, and I quote, “The news is going to get worse and worse before it gets better and better. And the American people deserve to have it straight from the shoulder.”
Biden then asserted, “Straight from the shoulder. The job of a president is to tell it straight from the shoulder. Tell the truth.”