Fetterman Deflects On Fracking Policy U-Turn By Taking Aim At Trump-Vance Ohio Rhetoric: ‘They’re Eating Dogs, They’re Eating Cats’
Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) grew visibly frustrated at NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker for grilling him on Vice President Kamala Harris’s evolving stance on fracking, deflecting from what he called a “weird ‘gotcha’” with a clapback quoting former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about Haitian immigrants in Ohio “eating dogs” and “eating cats.”
Welker pressed Fetterman during Sunday’s interview on Harris’s changed position, vowing not to ban the controversial oil extraction method if she wins the 2024 election—a notable departure from her 2019 call for a complete fracking ban. In 2016 she also sued the Obama administration as California’s attorney general in order to halt fracking activities.
“Why should voters trust that that is really what the vice president believes?” the host asked.
Fetterman, visibly frustrated, and with no patience to discuss policy, downplayed the relevance of the issue only to shift focus to MAGA rhetoric.
He replied: “So strange why we just keep talking about fracking. Back in 2020, I said that it might be an issue but it’s not going to be a defining issue. And now in 2024, we’re still trying to talk about fracking.”
He continued: “It’s strange for some weird “gotcha,” kind of taking quotes out of context. And you know, here I am now, I’m a United States Senator, and I won by five points, a record margin back in ’22. And again, it might be an issue in fracking. And I fully support fracking. So does the Vice President Harris. And now if you want to have a serious conversation about policy, then I would challenge Trump and Vance to have one, other than talking about eating pets.”
Welker pressed again: “And we’ll have plenty of questions for Senator Lindsey Graham, there’s no doubt about that. But to the point, what do you now like about fracking? You say you’re not going to ban it; you support it now.”
Refusing to answer, Fetterman snubbed the question by quoting back Trump debate line on Ohio: “Uh-oh. ‘They’re eating dogs, they’re eating cats.’ You know, again, so — okay. Yes, any more on fracking?”
The widely debunked claim during the September debate that Haitian migrants were “eating pets” in Springfield, Ohio. Local authorities have repeatedly denied such claims.
Still, as the 2024 election approaches, Harris’s stance on fracking remains a focal point of the broader energy policy debate—whether Democrats like it or not.
Watch above on MSNBC.
