CNN Fact-Checker Corrects Harris After Network Interview

The contrast between Republicans and Democrats has never been more pronounced, and the recent CNN interview with Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris has highlighted this divide.

Appearing alongside her chosen running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris's interview elicited vastly different reactions depending on one's political affiliation. To Democrats and mainstream media, the interview seemed like a home run, portraying the Democratic ticket in an overwhelmingly positive light.

On the other hand, Republicans viewed the interview as a disaster, filled with evasion and untruths, with both candidates seemingly unable to provide straightforward answers.

However, facts are impartial and reveal that the vice president, on multiple occasions, dodged questions and provided misleading information.

Even CNN's fact-checker, Daniel Dale, who is not known for supporting former President Donald Trump, identified a significant falsehood in the interview.

One particularly noteworthy instance involved Harris being asked by CNN anchor Dana Bash about her previous position on banning fracking. Harris’s response was evasive.

“I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020, that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking.”

When the anchor pressed her again, Harris reiterated:

“In 2020, I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024, and I’ve not changed that position, nor will I going forward. I kept my word, and I will keep my word.”

However, Dale, discussing the interview with CNN anchor Abby Phillip, stated that Harris was not being truthful.

“The bottom line, Abby, is that she did not actually make clear at a 2020 debate that she had changed her previous support for a fracking ban. Let me walk you through this. Here’s what she said at a CNN climate town hall in 2019 on the issue of a fracking ban,” Dale said before playing a clip from the 2019 event.

QUESTION: Will you commit to implementing a federal ban on fracking on your first day in office, adding the United States to the list of countries that have banned this harmful practice?

HARRIS: There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking. So, yeah.

“That was quite clear,” Dale commented.

He further explained that Harris ended her 2020 presidential campaign in December 2019. The only debate she participated in during 2020 was the general election debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence. Reviewing the transcript of that debate, Dale noted:

“Nowhere in there does she clearly state that she had reversed her previous support for a fracking ban. Instead, she reiterated that Joe Biden, the head of the Democratic ticket at the time, would not ban fracking. Here’s what she actually said in that 2020 debate,” he said, before playing another clip.

“Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that. I will repeat, and the American people know, that Joe Biden will not ban fracking,” Harris stated.

Dale added, “At that time, it made sense that she was speaking on behalf of Biden, as it is the president, not the vice president, who sets administration policy.”

He concluded, “Others might interpret this differently, but I certainly did not hear Kamala Harris explicitly renouncing her previously stated 2019 position. Rather, she was speaking on behalf of Joe Biden.”