Fact-checking Kamala Harris’s first campaign interview

Kamala Harris, the current Vice President of the United States, has recently entered the race for the presidency and gave her first interview since announcing her candidacy. This interview took place alongside her running mate, Tim Walz, and was conducted by CNN. During this discussion, Harris addressed several significant topics, including her stance on fracking, the Biden administration's achievements regarding child poverty, and the creation of clean-energy jobs. BBC Verify has taken the time to fact-check some of the claims made by Harris during this interview to determine their accuracy. One of the key claims made by Harris was regarding her position on fracking. In the interview, she stated that she would not ban fracking and emphasized that her position has remained unchanged. However, this assertion requires further context, as it can be somewhat misleading. Back in 2019, Harris expressed her support for banning fracking, but her stance shifted when she joined Joe Biden's campaign. In 2020, she stated that Biden would not end fracking, and she reiterated this point during the recent interview. When pressed about her previous statements, Harris responded by saying that she had made her position clear during the 2020 debate, where she stated that she would not ban fracking. She also mentioned that as Vice President, she did not ban fracking and would not do so if elected president. This evolution in her views highlights the importance of understanding the context behind her statements. Another claim made by Harris during the interview was about child poverty in America. She stated that by extending the child tax credit, they had managed to cut child poverty by over 50%. However, this claim is somewhat exaggerated and requires clarification. While it is true that child poverty rates did decrease, the reduction was not as significant as she suggested. According to data, child poverty fell by 46% between 2020 and 2021, but it subsequently rose again the following year. This indicates that the impact of the child tax credit was temporary. Under the current child tax credit system, families earning less than $200,000 annually can receive $2,000 for each child under the age of 17. During the pandemic, this amount was temporarily increased to $3,600, but it reverted back to $2,000 at the end of 2021. Harris has promised that if she becomes president, she would restore the enhanced child tax credit, providing $6,000 per child for families during the first year of a baby's life. Lastly, Harris made a claim regarding the creation of clean-energy jobs, stating that they have already created over 300,000 new jobs in this sector. While it is true that a significant number of clean-energy jobs have been created under the Biden administration, the exact figure is uncertain. Harris's claim refers to jobs created as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law in August 2022. This law introduced substantial investments in clean energy and climate-related projects. The figure of over 300,000 new clean-energy jobs comes from a climate communications organization that reported on new projects. However, it is important to note that not all of these jobs have been filled yet, and it is challenging to attribute the entire increase in clean-energy employment solely to the Inflation Reduction Act, especially considering the global growth in clean energy. Other organizations have provided different estimates for the number of jobs created, and it is worth noting that in 2023, clean-energy employment grew at a rate that was twice as fast as the overall economy and the rest of the energy sector. In conclusion, while Kamala Harris made several bold claims during her interview, it is crucial to examine the facts and understand the context behind her statements to gain a clearer picture of the issues at hand.