CLAIM: Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris repeatedly denied calling for a ban on fracking during her 2020 campaign when questioned by former President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s debate.
VERDICT: FALSE. In fact, Harris explicitly advocated for the end of fracking while running for president in 2019.
The subject of fracking was broached during the debate by its moderators, who challenged Harris to explain her stance despite previously calling for a ban on the practice.
Harris responded, “My values have not changed … I made that very clear in 2020. I will not ban fracking. I have not banned fracking as vice president. As a matter of fact, I was the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened new leases for fracking. My position is that we have got to invest in diverse sources of energy so that we can reduce our reliance on foreign oil. We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes our reliance on foreign oil.
As reported by Breitbart News, Harris has indeed reversed her position on fracking, a fact that CNN pointed out during an interview with her in 2024.
There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” she said during the 2020 primary. And starting with what we can do on day one around public lands. There has to be legislation. Yes. This is something I’ve taken in California. I have a history of working on this issue … We just have to acknowledge that the residual impact of fracking is enormous in terms of the impact on the health and safety of communities.
When confronted by CNN’s Dana Bash with her past statements during an August 2024 interview, Harris maintained that she never pledged to ban fracking. I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020,” she said. That I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking.