President Trump and rival Joe Biden sparred over environmental policy at the end of the presidential debate on Thursday, with Biden indicating he would “transition” away from dependence on oil.
“Would he close down the oil industry?” Trump asked. “Would you close down the oil industry?”
“I would transition from the oil industry, yes,” Biden responded.
“That’s a big statement,” Trump commented.
“It is a big statement, because…the oil industry pollutes, significantly,” Biden responded.
“It has to be replaced by renewable energy over time,” Biden added. “And I’d stop giving to the oil industry—I’d stop giving them federal subsidies. [Trump] won’t give federal subsidies to solar and wind. Why are we giving it to the oil industry?”
However, the former vice president proceeded to deny that he would ban fracking, despite having promised to do so several times during the Democratic primaries. While Trump pointed out that Biden had said he would ban fracking, Biden asserted that he would ban “fracking on federal land…no fracking and/or oil on federal land.”
Earlier in the debate, Trump mocked Biden’s environmental policies as equivalent to the Green New Deal.
Biden’s “plan is an economic disaster,” Trump said. “If you look at what he wants to do, if you look at his environmental plan—you know who developed it? A.O.C. plus three.”