Biden claims he never said he'd ban fracking, despite video, admits he wants to 'transition' away from oil industry

Joe Biden said he wants to “transition” away from oil and have all industries at “net zero emissions” by 2035. He also claimed he’s never said he would ban fracking, despite video evidence of him saying just that.

“Would he close down the oil industry?” President Donald Trump asked of Biden at Thursday’s presidential debate. “Would you close down the oil industry?”

“I would transition from the oil industry, yes,” Biden admitted, a statement Trump called “big” and critics latched onto on social media, taking it as an admission he would destroy an industry vitally important to the economies of many states.

The former vice president said he would end federal subsidies to the oil industry and focus them more on renewable energy, which he wants the country completely reliant on “over time.”

"Will you remember that, Texas? Will you remember that, Pennsylvania? Oklahoma?" Trump said of Biden’s plan.

Biden’s timetable raised concern as he first said he would want to move on from the oil industry by 2025, five years sooner than the goal set in the Green New Deal, arguably the most extreme and ambitious piece of climate legislation introduced by Democrats. He later clarified that 2035 was his deadline.

Biden has faced a lot of scrutiny when it comes to his views on the oil industry. He denied once again at Thursday’s debate that he has ever said he is for banning fracking, despite multiple videos of him during the primaries saying just that. Edited clips of those moments were tweeted out by the president on Thursday night.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) responded to Trump’s tweet and warned Biden that his state and others are “watching” and accused Biden of lying about his position on fracking.

“I don’t know why @JoeBiden thinks he can continue to lie about this. He wants to ban fracking and end all fossil fuels like coal too. Kentucky is watching, and so are many other states,” the senator tweeted. 

Critics leapt on Biden’s comments on oil, accusing him of wanting to “kill” the industry, with some predicting he could very well have made a “huge error” and lost potential support in certain states for his campaign.

“His far left plan slipped out. Massive error by Joe,” conservative pundit Robby Starbuck tweeted.

“Biden wants to ‘transition’ away from the oil industry. He just killed paycheck earned by hardworking families in Texas. Joe just wants to transition away from Texas,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted, telling his state’s residents to “remember” Biden’s words on election day.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) made a similar statement, predicting that Biden “lost Pennsylvania tonight,” the state the former vice president was born in, with his words on the oil industry.

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