Trump And Harris Duel Over Energy

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met for the first time on the debate stage on September 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. Though light on specific policies and plans, the event presented stark contrasts in their approaches to energy, climate, and geopolitics. Among the many topics discussed, both candidates used the occasion to position American energy independence as key to the country’s future, unusually highlighting the topic.

Harris was pressed on her shifting position regarding hydraulic fracking, a practice she supported banning while a presidential candidate in 2019, but then reversed her position to match Joe Biden’s when she became his Vice President. This shift was part of a pattern during the debate, as the Vice President highlighted increased oil production under the Biden administration as well as new leases for fracking enabled by the Inflation Reduction Act. This shift in policy emphasizing fracking and oil production is likely a bid to increase her support in Pennsylvania, known prominently as the country’s second-largest natural gas-producing state. Despite this shift in tone, the Biden/Harris administration did take action to limit offshore drilling.

Pressured again by her change of positions, Harris aimed to reconcile with her position of support for renewables, stating, “My values have not changed. My position is that we have got to invest in diverse sources of energy, so we reduce our reliance on foreign oil.” Though reducing dependence on foreign oil is an admirable goal, geopolitical measures like taking sanctions off Iran allowed Tehran to flood the market with oil. While this may have helped keep oil prices lower, Trump noted it also set the stage for increased Iranian funding of proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, setting the stage for the Hamas October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and subsequent war in the Middle East.

Trump also pushed back on the fracking issue, echoing his previous claims regarding Harris’ energy agenda, claiming, “She will never allow fracking in Pennsylvania. If she won the election, fracking in Pennsylvania would end on day 1 … oil would be dead, fossil fuels would be dead, we’ll go back to windmills and solar.” He went on to exaggerate the area required for solar panels to operate. He went on to criticize the Biden-Harris administration for killing the Keystone XL pipeline. That pipeline would have been expected to carry 830,000 barrels of oil per day to the United States from Canada, making President Biden’s cancellation of the project a contradiction to Harris’ stated goal of energy independence. Trump also mentioned that while Biden blocked the Keystone pipeline, he waived sanctions on the ill-fated Nord Stream 2 pipeline intended to transport gas from Russia to Germany early in his administration, although this was reversed several months later.

Vice President Harris later focused on green messaging when responding to a question concerning how the candidates would approach climate change. After reminding the audience former President Trump called climate change a hoax, Harris went on to tout the Biden administration’s investment into the clean energy economy while pointing out the increase in domestic gas production under Biden. She continued this thread of linking clean energy investment to manufacturing by touting the creation of 800,000 manufacturing jobs, a claim which is somewhat inflated according to revised estimates. While domestic gas production rose under Biden, this is not an improvement that can be primarily attributed to the current administration, rather it’s part of a long-standing trend while Biden’s pause on LNG exports stymied industry-driven growth and was only recently overturned by the courts rather than the Biden White House recognizing LNG’s importance.

Trump fired back at Harris’ claims related to manufacturing jobs, focusing specifically on the automotive sector. He focused on China’s production capacity, noting, “What they’ve given to China is unbelievable, but we won’t let that happen. We’ll put tariffs on those cars so they can’t come into our country. The Biden administration is destroying manufacturing in this country…” This highlights the edge China has gained over the United States as a leading manufacturer of green technologies, especially electric vehicles. In framing the green energy transition as an arena for competition with China over manufacturing, Trump used the issue to justify his repeated calls for tariffs.

The debate laid bare the many profound differences between Harris and former President Trump, especially regarding energy policy and the geopolitical implications surrounding it. Harris positioned herself as the proponent of a balanced energy transition, emphasizing her administration’s record of bolstering clean energy while maintaining domestic oil production. She presented herself as pragmatic, citing investments in the Inflation Reduction Act and showcasing her ability to work across energy sectors, from fossil fuels to renewables. Even though she framed investments made by the IRA as pragmatic, she failed to address that the measure ultimately has little effect on inflation and increases it if anything. This approach contrasts with her statements during the 2020 primary election cycle in which she said during a 2019 CNN Townhall she would ban fracking, a position she walked back during the general election as Biden’s running mate. This dodge aims to reassure voters in key swing states like Pennsylvania that her policies won’t undermine traditional energy jobs while continuing to push for climate solutions, a key issue for younger generations.

Trump portrayed Harris’ energy policies as destructive to American industry, arguing her campaign statements aside, if elected her administration would kill jobs in energy and manufacturing, especially in the auto sector. He paired this with arguments for traditional hydrocarbon production, sharp criticisms of China, and accusations against the Biden-Harris administration of being overly lenient on foreign powers and thus setting conditions for the wars in Europe and the Middle East, with their potential to escalate. By vowing to reintroduce tariffs and protect American jobs through a strong stance on trade, Trump hoped to align himself with working-class American voters.

While both candidates stuck to their recent policy positions and criticisms, the debate is noteworthy as a signal and a historical capstone. Both Trump and Harris approach rhetorical agreement, arguing for increasing American energy production, something which Democrats in the past shied have away from. Both candidates also touted domestic energy production as a prerequisite to their subsequent policy visions – a “great economy” from Trump, and a slate of green investments from Harris.

Energy encapsulates so many facets of politics in one – environmentalism and climate change, trade, geopolitical competition, national security, job creation, regulation and permitting, guaranteeing energy policy a spot at the top of the candidates’ agenda.