Elections

Harris Campaign Official Dodges As CNN Host Presses Him On VP’s Fracking Flip-Flop

Harris Campaign Official Dodges As CNN Host Presses Him On VP's Fracking Flip-Flop

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Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign communications director Michael Tyler skirted questions from CNN’s John Berman on Wednesday about why Harris changed her stance on fracking.

Harris, during her 2020 presidential run, advocated for a fracking ban, but the vice president quickly reversed her position after launching her 2024 presidential campaign. Berman, on “CNN News Central,” asked Tyler twice about what drove Harris to shift her stance, but the communications director avoided answering, instead noting the vice president is “proud” of the Biden-Harris administration’s record on energy and discussing Project 2025. (RELATED: Kamala Harris Co-Sponsored A Green New Deal. Now, She’s Running For The Oval Office)

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“Listen, I mean, she’s been very clear here. She’s proud of the work that she’s done as a part of this administration, making sure that American energy production is at an all time high. We want to continue that progress into her first term in office here,” Tyler said in response to Berman’s first inquiry about the flip-flop. “And again, I think whether it’s energy policy, economic policy writ-large, that you have a fighter in Kamala Harris, who is actually keeping these interests of the American people front and center, coming together to bring people together in search of solutions that actually improve people’s quality of life, improve our economy, improve energy production.”

“I think that stands, again, in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who may say one thing when he’s in Pennsylvania, may say one thing out on the stump, but frankly, if you look at the totality of his economic agenda, his Project 2025 agenda writ-large, the only solutions are those that benefit people at the very top, billionaires, rich folks like Donald Trump, the wealthiest corporations, nothing for the American worker, nothing to actually improve the lives of the American people and our consumers,” he continued. “So again, I think the contrast is pretty clear.”

Harris asserted in 2019 there is “no question” she would terminate fracking if elected president, but her campaign told The Hill she no longer wants to ban the practice. The vice president also walked back her 2020 campaign positions supporting mandatory federal gun buybacks and the elimination of private health insurance.

Berman told Tyler he would return to the subject of Project 2025 momentarily, but asked the communications director if there was “something that changed her mind specifically” about fracking during her time as vice president.

“No, listen, again, the vice president is very proud of the Biden-Harris Administration’s record on energy production and the economy writ-large. She wants to continue to build upon the progress that we’ve made here,” Tyler repeated. “That goes for energy production, and it goes for the economy across the board, right? She’s proud of the 15 million new jobs that have been created, of the 800,000 manufacturing jobs that have been created.”

The federal government overestimated the number of jobs in the U.S. economy by over 800,000 between April 2023 and March 2024, according to data the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published.

Tyler then brought up Project 2025 again, saying former President Donald Trump “is focused on exacting a dangerous and extreme ideological Project 2025 agenda.”

“I imagine the fracking thing will come up again in the future,” Berman responded.

Trump has asserted he has no awareness of Project 2025 and that he has no involvement in it, even condemning some of its policies.

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