Trump, Biden scrap on oil, coronavirus
PENSACOLA, Fla. — President Donald Trump and his allies fought for support in pivotal battleground states Friday after a debate performance that gave new hope to anxious Republicans. Democrat Joe Biden, campaigning close to home, tried to clean up a debate misstep while urging voters to stay focused on the president’s inability to control the worsening pandemic.
The surge of activity with just 11 days remaining in the 2020 contest highlighted the candidates’ divergent strategies, styles and policies shaping the campaign’s closing days. More than 52 million votes have already been cast, with an additional 100 million or so expected before a winner is declared.
Biden’s team has been forced to explain itself. In the final minutes of Thursday night’s debate, the former vice president said he supports a “transition” away from oil in favor of renewable energy. The campaign released a statement hours later declaring he would phase out taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuel companies, not the industry altogether.
Trump, campaigning in Florida, repeatedly seized on the issue.
“That could be one of the biggest mistakes made in presidential debate history,” he said at a rally at The Villages, a sprawling retirement community in Florida, where thousands of people gathered outdoors on a polo field. Most did not wear masks.
“Texas, are you watching? Pennsylvania are you watching?” he said later in Pensacola, where he drew a crowd of many thousands.
Biden also dispatched running mate Kamala Harris to help clarify his position as she campaigned in swing state Georgia.
“Let’s be really clear about this: Joe Biden is not going to ban fracking,” Harris said. “He is going to deal with the oil subsidies. You know, the president likes to take everything out of context. But let’s be clear, what Joe was talking about was banning subsidies, but he will not ban fracking in America.”
Biden said the same after the debate, but he did not address his energy policy in a speech Friday that focused on the coronavirus.
At his rallies, Trump also fired his own insult at Harris.
“Kamala will not be your first female president,” Trump declared. “Look, we’re not going to be a socialist nation. We’re not going to have a socialist president, especially any female socialist president.”
As for Biden and oil, while ending the nation’s reliance on fossil fuel is popular among many liberals, the idea could hurt him among working-class voters in swing states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas who depend on the industry to make a living.
Trump’s allies immediately began running new attack ads seizing on the Democrats’ inconsistent answers on energy. One ad unveiled Friday calls Biden and Harris “fracking liars.” Another claims Biden’s plans could cost thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania alone, but does not provide any evidence.
As part of his plan to fight climate change, Biden has said he would ban new gas and oil permits — including fracking — on federal lands only. The vast majority of oil and gas does not come from federal lands.
Both campaigns claimed a boost from the televised debate that drew an audience of tens of millions. But with roughly onethird of expected ballots already cast, it is unclear how much the faceoff could alter the course of the campaign.