Biden promises ‘no more drilling’ before crucial midterm elections

President Joe Biden made an apparently unscripted remark that there will be “no more drilling” under his watch, in response to someone in the crowd at his rally with Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY). The comments came after Biden wrapped up his official remarks at the election-themed event, which was intended to boost Hochul’s chances against her challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY).

“No more drilling,” he said, waving his hand with a back and forth motion. “There is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling.”

The person was holding up a sign that read, “5 more years of drilling is a lose lose!,” and could be heard yelling back at Biden about offshore leases. He responded, “that was before I was president. We’re trying to work on that to get that done. Thank you.” Biden then motioned that the person should write down her name. The two spoke afterwards, according to pool reports. The remarks could prove controversial, as gas prices have risen sharply during Biden’s time in office and some blame his anti-oil policies for contributing to the surge. The average price of a gallon of gas was $2.31 per gallon when Biden took office. It peaked above $5 per gallon this summer, and sits at $3.80 now, according to AAA. The rest of the event consisted of an election rally for Hochul, who faces a surprisingly strong challenge from Zeldin in blue New York. The rally took place at Sarah Lawrence College, located in the New York City suburb of Westchester County, with roughly 1,500 attendees. Hochul took the stage first and began firing up the crowd before joking, “I’m just a warm-up act for the president.” She promised that if Democrats in her state show up and vote she’ll easily win the election. Biden gave a version of what has become his standard stump speech this election, touting his accomplishments in office such as a gun control bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, an infrastructure bill, and efforts to combat climate change. He lumped Zeldin in with a group of “MAGA Republican” election deniers, saying that defeating him was necessary to preserve democracy. “Kathy’s opponent is one of those election deniers,” he said, repeating a claim that more than 300 Republican office seekers fit the description. “They’re not only trying to deny your right to vote, they’re trying to deny your right to have your vote counted … with these election deniers there are only two outcomes for any election — either they win or they were cheated.” Biden implored the crowd and everyone watching to go vote on Tuesday. “If y’all show up and vote, Democracy is sustained,” he said. Another big win with the college campus crowd came when Biden said GOPers want to block his student debt transfer, naming Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and drawing boos. There was another unscripted moments during Biden’s remarks. He briefly tripped before saying “it’s black” to describe the object that caused his stumble. The President and the U.S. Administration had promised to halt oil and gas drilling on federal land and in federal waters during the campaign ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Just last week, President Biden said as the biggest oil companies were reporting record or near-record profits for Q3, “I think they have a responsibility to act in the interest of their consumers, their community, and their country; to invest in America by increasing production and refining capacity.” NB: what a fucking idiot,,, The only way to increase oil production is by drilling……. “They have the opportunity to do that — lowering prices for consumers at the pump. You know, if they don’t, they’re going to pay a higher tax on their excess profits and face other restrictions. My team will work with Congress to look at these options that are available to us and others,” President Biden said on October 31.