CNN’s Erin Burnett says Kamala Harris has taken a ‘very sharp turn’ in her stance on Big Oil

CNN’s Erin Burnett on Tuesday said Vice President Kamala Harris has taken a “very sharp turn” on the campaign trail to a “tremendously different” stance on the US oil industry.

Harris — who championed an anti-fracking platform as a presidential candidate four years ago — is now “pounding the table for the oil industry and U.S. oil production,” the news anchor said during the “Erin Burnett OutFront” on Tuesday.

But it’s not “the way it’s always been,” Burnett added.

The news network aired back-to-back clips of Harris vowing to get big oil during her 2020 presidential run — along with footage of her applauding the same industry today.

“We’ve had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes we can’t be overly reliant on foreign oil,” Harris boasted in a clip from a campaign stop in Philadelphia last month. .

Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, echoed her praise.

“America is producing more natural gas and more oil than at any time in our history,” Walz said Tuesday.

Burnett said Walz’s cheers for the U.S. oil industry fell in line with Harris’s celebrations — but it turned into Harris’ 180-degree pivot.

“This is a very sharp turn from where Harris once stood on this issue not too long ago,” Burnett said.

Andrew Kaczynski, a founding member of CNN’s KFile investigative team, supported Burnett.

“It really shows how far Kamala Harris went in the 2019 Democratic primary when she was running against Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren,” Kaczynski said. “She was making this incredibly bold promise that she was going to take on the US oil industry, maybe prosecute them for their role in climate change.”

Kaczynski recounted how Harris had compared the oil industry to “Big Tobacco,” claiming the oil companies knew they were fast-tracking the climate crisis and hid it from the public.

“I’m saying to these big oil companies and these fossil fuel companies, look, you really have to be prepared to see a serious fine or be charged with the crime,” Harris said in 2019, in a clip that aired on CNN. .

“Obviously, that’s wildly different from what she’s presenting now,” Burnett said.

This is not the first time Harris has backed away from her promises, according to Kacyznski.

Harris had claimed she would ban plastic straws, stop fracking and eliminate the filibuster to pass the Green New Deal, Kaczysnki said.

Harris appears to be changing her tune for two reasons, the reporter said.

First, Harris likely abandoned her anti-oil stance because of the importance of fracking in Pennsylvania, according to Kaczynski.

Fracking is the main method of gas extraction in Pennsylvania – an important state in the upcoming election. Both Harris and former President Donald Trump have spent a significant amount of their time campaigning in the battleground state.

And second, Kaczynski said climate change is not at the top of voters’ minds ahead of the election, and referred to a recent Gallup poll.

Just 21% of registered US voters said climate change was an “extremely important” issue ahead of the election, placing it second to last on the list of issues, according to the Gallup poll. The economy topped the list.