U.S. Senator John Fetterman on Sunday repeatedly dodged questions about the past opposition to fracking expressed by he and Vice President Kamala Harris, who campaigned on banning the practice in 2020 but now claims to support it.
Fetterman similarly pushed to ban fracking from 2016 until 2022, when began supporting fracking, and told NBC News host Kristen Welker questions about the flip-flop are “strange.” He deflected by referencing President Donald Trump’s remarks about dogs and cats reportedly being eaten by Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
“It’s so strange why we just keep talking about fracking. Back in 2020, I said that might be an issue, but it’s not going to be a defining issue. Now in 2024, we’re still trying to talk about fracking,” said Fetterman in remarks seized by the Trump campaign. “The other side, they’re talking about eating cats, and geese, and dogs, and saying absurd things.”
The senator argued, “It’s going to be very close in Pennsylvania and it’s not going to be defined by fracking.”
After the senator declined to answer a question about whether Harris’ policy reversal will cost her votes, Welker highlighted past statements, made by Fetterman, that similarly opposed fracking.
In 2016, Fetterman reportedly said, “The [fracking] industry is a stain on our state.” Two years later he reaffirmed, “I don’t support fracking at all.”
While campaigning to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate, Welker noted Fetterman changed his position.
“I absolutely support fracking,” Fetterman declared in October 2022, only days prior to Election Day.
Welker: "Why should voters trust" Kamala wouldn't ban fracking?
Fetterman: "It's so strange why we keep talking about fracking"
Welker: You called fracking a "stain on Pennsylvania." What do you now like about fracking?"
Fetterman: "They're eating dogs. They're eating cats." pic.twitter.com/kkVkT13PU7
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 22, 2024
Fetterman, after being confronted with his own statements, suggested Welker was looking for a “gotcha” on an issue that does not matter to Pennsylvania voters.
“It’s strange for some weird gotcha, kind of taking the quotes out of context, and here I am now, I’m a United States Senator and I won by five points, a record margin back in ’22.”
Acknowledging fracking “might be an issue,” Fetterman reiterated that both he and Harris now support the practice.
Pressed a third time by Welker to clarify what he now likes about fracking, the senator replied, “They’re eating dogs they’re eating cats. Again, so, okay, yes, anymore on fracking?”
While Fetterman suggested fracking is now a fringe issue among Pennsylvanians, a recent poll showed broad bipartisan support, with 68 percent of those polled supporting fracking and just 19 percent against the practice.
It simultaneously showed Trump and Harris tied in Pennsylvania, as well as a tied race between Senator Dave McCormick (D-PA) and Republican Senate nominee Dave McCormick.
Earlier in the interview, Fetterman echoed his earlier prediction about a close race in Pennsylvania, telling the network to expect tight polling until the end.
“It’s gonna be very close,” said Fetterman. “Pennsylvania is going to be very close, and otherwise if it’s not, it’s going to be a great, nice surprise, but I’m expecting a very close and a very competitive race through.”
Fetterman’s remarks come after he recently warned Democrats will have a difficult time repeating the narrow victory assigned to President Joe Biden in 2020.
“Trump has created a special kind of a hold” among voters in the Keystone State, said Fetterman, securing “a special kind of place in Pennsylvania.”
Fetterman said, “I want people to understand, it’s not science, but there is energy, and there is kinds of anger on the ground in Pennsylvania and people are very committed, and Trump is going to be strong.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Sen. John Fetterman Appears of Meet the Press” by NBC News/Meet the Press.
