Pro-Trump natural gas CEO warns ex-president’s 'drill, baby, drill' slogan is 'not the answer'

On the campaign trail, 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has aggressively voiced his support of fossil fuels — often repeating the Republican "drill, baby, drill" slogan of the 2010s.

Trump's Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, in contrast, has recently voiced her support of fracking but favors a combination of green energy and fossil fuels.

Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have been especially vocal in their support of fossil fuels while campaigning in Pennsylvania — which Trump and Harris both view as a must-win state. But Matt Kurzejewski, chief executive of the Pennsylvania-based natural gas company Costy's Energy Services, is warning that fracking is not a panacea.

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The New York Times' Rebecca F. Elliott reports, "Mr. Kurzejewski, 33, plans to vote for Mr. Trump, as he did in 2016 and 2020, figuring that the former president would do less to hamstring the industry. Still, Mr. Kurzejewski added that 'drill, baby, drill,' the slogan embraced by Mr. Trump, 'is not the answer.'"

Unlike Harris and President Joe Biden, Trump and Vance have downplayed the threat of climate change. And Trump has promoted, without evidence, a conspiracy theory that windmills cause cancer.

But according to Elliott, "residents and elected leaders" in Pennsylvania and other northeastern states are "wary of becoming locked into using fossil fuels that are contributing to climate change."

Elliott explains, "There is no easy fix for Pennsylvania's gas glut. Pipelines often cross state lines, requiring support not just from federal regulators, but also, from local communities and officials in other states. Oil and gas infrastructure has become particularly hotly contested as many people worry about the environmental and health impacts of pipelines and related equipment."

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Read the New York Times' full report at this link (subscription required).