In response to former President Donald Trump's recent claims that Vice President Kamala Harris intends to ban fracking if elected president, the Harris campaign has categorically refuted these allegations as false. The campaign accused Trump of using these false claims as a distraction from his own energy plans.

Trump made these remarks during a campaign rally in Minnesota on Saturday, citing statements made by Harris during her 2019 primary run where she voiced support for banning fracking. However, the Harris campaign has emphasized that these statements were made during the primary race and do not reflect her current stance.

In a statement, the Harris campaign asserted, "Trump's false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class." They also highlighted the fact that under the Biden-Harris Administration, the largest-ever climate change legislation was passed, and the United States now boasts the highest-ever domestic energy production.

To support this point, the campaign cited data from the Energy Information Administration, revealing that the United States produced over 13 million barrels of oil per day in 2023, marking a record level of production.

During the campaign rally, Trump accused Harris of attempting to hide her stance on fracking. "She said, 'I'd never said [that] about fracking,'" Trump claimed before asserting that he had evidence to the contrary. However, no evidence of Harris explicitly calling for a fracking ban during the current campaign has been provided.

Trump also made several inaccurate statements about the Biden administration's energy policy, including a claim that it implemented a mandate forcing Americans to buy electric vehicles. It should be noted that there is no such mandate in place, although an EPA regulation does seek to promote greater adoption of electric vehicles.

These allegations by Trump against Harris come as she is expected to moderate her positions on energy issues. Throughout her campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for the 2020 election, Harris was seen as one of the more liberal candidates on energy policy. However, the Harris campaign has not explicitly addressed whether her stance on fracking has evolved since then.

As the campaign for the 2024 presidential election gets underway, energy policies are likely to remain a significant point of contention between political rivals. While the Harris campaign vehemently denies any intention to ban fracking, Trump's accusations serve as a reminder that fracking continues to be a contentious issue with implications for both the economy and the environment.