President Trump on Tuesday during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania played a mashup video of both Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaking against fracking, calling the montage an “original Donald Trump Broadway play.”
“The Democrat party hates fracking. They hate coal, good, beautiful, clean coal. They hate American energy and Joe Biden will shut it all down. He’s going to. Tonight. I want to do something. I want to give you. This is an original Donald Trump Broadway play,” Trump told a crowd of supporters at Erie International Airport Tuesday evening before playing the video. “First time I have ever pulled it out. I had it done specifically for the people of Erie because you guys like energy. You like being energy independent. Take a look at this clip. We had it made up, and I think you’ll like.”
He added, “Joe Biden will ban fracking and abolish Pennsylvania Energy. Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged to ban fracking, right? You’ve all heard it. Have you heard it? Till he got the nomination then he came to Pennsylvania. He said, “Oh, well, I guess it’s okay.”
The nearly 45-second video features a compilation from both Biden and Harris statements and response to various of questions from voters or reporters during the Democratic presidential primary on the topic of fracking, short for “hydraulic fracturing,” a drilling technique that has facilitated a boom in U.S. energy production over the past decade due the access natural gas and oil reserves underground. Fracking is a key issue especially for Pennsylvania voters where underneath the state consists of over two-thirds the Marcellus shale formation.
The opening clip features the July 2019 Democratic primary debate where CNN anchor Dana Bash asking Biden “Would there be any place for fossil fuels including coal and fracking in a Biden Administration?”
“No. We would — we would work it out. We would make sure it’s eliminated and no more subsidies for either one of those,” Biden said in response before shifting to the next clip showing Biden promising a young woman during a campaign event in New Hampshire back in September 2019 that he will end fossil fuels.
“I guarantee you, we’re going to end fossil fuels,” Biden said, with the next sound bite showing the last Democratic primary debate with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) where the former vice president says, “No more. No new fracking.”
Biden during a rally in New Hampshire in February responded to a group of climate protesters, assuring them that he too would phase out fossil fuels if elected president. Parts of Biden addressing the group of protesters that interrupted his speech was used in the Trump campaign video.
“They want to do the same thing I want to do, they want to phase out fossil fuels and we’re going to phase out fossil fuels,” Biden said.
The video shifts to one of the two clips featuring remarks Harris has made regarding this issue. Both of the clips used were remarks Harris made during CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall in September 2019. In one of the soundbites featured, Harris flatly says that without a question she is “in favor of banning fracking.”
In the following clip of Harris shows her responding to a question if she would declare a national emergency on the climate, to which she said she would end fossil fuel leases on day one using the presidential executive order to bypass congress.
“And I think it’s critically important, on day one, that we end any fossil fuel leases on public lands. And, that, I’m prepared to do on day one as a matter of executive action,” Harris said.
After playing the clip, Trump told the crowd that he views Pennsylvania as key to his reelection.
“To all the people of Pennsylvania, hear this warning: If Biden’s elected, he will wipe out your energy industry,” Trump said. “You have a million jobs. Just like he wiped out your steel industry and I brought it back. Only by voting for me, can you save your fracking in Pennsylvania.”
“If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole thing,” Trump added.
The Trump campaign shared the video montage on social media after the rally.
Here’s the video of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that President Trump just played tonight for thousands of Pennsylvanians!
— Trump War Room – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) October 21, 2020
A vote for Biden and Harris is a vote to kill Pennsylvania’s fracking jobs. pic.twitter.com/w2cCS7cOSS
Vice President Mike Pence has also played this 45-second video last Saturday and will continue to show this clip during the multiple events he is scheduled to have throughout the state of Pennsylvania in the final two weeks before Election Day.
Pence pressed Harris on the issue during the vice presidential debate earlier this month, noting that she blatantly stated that she wants to end fracking during her presidential bid.
“Joe Biden will not end fracking, he has been very clear about that,” Harris replied.
Biden’s position on the issue of fracking has been all over the place, giving mixed-answer response to voters depending on the state he visited. Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Biden is pushing back on Trump’s argument, insisting that he won’t ban all fracking. He has proposed to ban new fracking permits on federal land.
The former vice president issued a statement on Trump’s Erie visit, saying it was a “desperate attempt to distract from the fact” that he broke his 2016 campaign promise to bring back jobs.
“He failed working Pennsylvanians by incentivizing companies to offshore jobs, waging war on unions, and giving huge tax breaks to big corporations and the ultra-wealthy,” Biden said in his statement. “The working families that I met when I was in Erie earlier this month deserve a president who will fight for them on day one. As president, I will help Pennsylvanians recover from four years of neglect and put working families at the center of our effort to build the economy back better than it was before.”
20202020 Election2020 Presidential RaceFrackingJoe BidenPennsylvaniaPresident TrumpSen. Kamala HarrisTrump 2020 CampaignTrump RallyVice President Mike Pence
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