Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman dodged questions about his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ previous comments against fracking during a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“It’s so strange why we keep talking about fracking,” the Democratic senator said when asked about Harris’ reversal on the issue over the last few years. “Back in 2020 I said it might be an issue but that it’s not going to be a defining issue, and now in 2024 we’re still trying about fracking.”
The comments come as Harris has continued to face criticism for her reversal on the issue of fracking over the last few years, going from supporting a ban on the practice during her unsuccessful bid for president during the 2020 election to vowing not to support such a ban last month.
But Fetterman insisted that fracking is not an important issue during his interview Sunday, instead pivoting to attacking former President Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance for their comments on Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
“The other side, they’re talking about eating cats and geese and dogs and saying absurd things,” Fetterman said. “Having a serious policy conversation when the other side is just absolutely on fire.”
Fetterman was then confronted with his own reversal on the issue, including a quote from 2016 in which he called fracking a “stain” on the state of Pennsylvania and another in 2018 in which he said he doesn’t “support fracking at all.” But by 2022 Fetterman had changed his tune, NBC News pointed out, displaying a quote in which he said he “absolutely” supported fracking.
“What exactly do you like about fracking,” Fetterman was asked.
“It’s strange for some weird gotcha taking quotes out of context and here I am now, I am a United States senator I won by five points,” Fetterman responded. “I fully support fracking and so does Vice President Harris,” he continued, before again pivoting to attacking the Republican ticket for their claims on “eating dogs.”
Fetterman’s home state of Pennsylvania, where fracking remains popular, figures to play a critical role in November’s election, with Trump having narrowly won the state in 2016 before a similarly narrow defeat at the hands of President Biden in the state in 2020.
Fetterman acknowledged that the race between Trump and Harris will be “very close,” though he pushed back against the notion that the state’s vote would be “defined by fracking.”
Harris currently holds a narrow lead in the state, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, garnering 48.3% support to Trump’s 47.6%, a 0.7 point margin.
