2020 VIDEO: John Fetterman Defended Clinton’s Pledge to ‘Put a Lot of Coal Miners’ Out of Work

Pennsylvania Senate Democrat candidate John Fetterman defended two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s pledge to scale down the coal industry, throwing thousands of coal miners’ jobs in doubt.

In February 2020, Fetterman said the criticism of Clinton’s comment was “unfair” and that she just “articulated it in a way that was taken out of context,” a WHYY’s Radio Times interview uncovered by the Republican National Committee’s research team shows.

But the exact quote of Clinton’s comment contradicts Fetterman’s claims that Clinton was taken out of context.

“We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business,” Hillary said in reference to transitioning the United States from fossil fuels — a policy John Fetterman has pledged as well.

“I would be proud to be at the tip of that spear” in transitioning Pennsylvania away from fossil fuels to “green and renewable sources,” Fetterman said in 2018.

Fetterman’s uncovered defense of Clinton’s desire to “put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business” is notable because nearly 18,000 jobs are supported by coal in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance.

It is not the first time Fetterman has attacked the fossil fuel industry. “I support a moratorium on fracking in PA until we get an extraction tax, and the strictest enviro regulations in this country,” Fetterman said in 2016.

“I don’t support fracking at all, and I never have,” Fetterman said, reiterating his position in 2018. “And I’ve, I’ve signed the no fossil fuels money pledge. I have never received a dime from any natural gas or oil company whatsoever.”

In Tuesday’s debate with Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz, Fetterman was asked about his anti-American energy comments.

“I do support fracking. I support fracking,” Fetterman said, contradicting his previous statements. “And I stand and I do support fracking.”

Betting odds after the debate moved 20 points in favor of Oz. Election day is 12 days away on November 8. Polling before the debate shows both Oz and Fetterman in a dead heat.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.