Trump, Biden scrap on oil, virus with just over a week to go
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — President Donald Trump and his allies fought for support in pivotal battleground states on 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 policy prescriptions that are shaping the campaign's closing days. Nearly 50 million votes have already been cast, with an additional 100 million or so expected before a winner is declared.
The coronavirus debate has pushed Trump onto the defensive for much of the fall, but for the moment it is Biden's team that 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 the U.S. in favor of renewable energy. The campaign released a statement hours later declaring that he would phase out taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuel companies, not the industry altogether.
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 his Friday speech.
Trump repeatedly raised the issue 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.
“That could be one of the biggest mistakes made in presidential debate history,” Trump gloated.
But he also fired his own insult at the California senator that pointed to her gender and was quickly stirring criticism.
“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, and fracking in particular, 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 up to 600,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone.