Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday said he would aim to end the oil industry by transitioning completely to renewable energy.
In the final debate ahead of the US presidential election scheduled to be held on November 3, President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden discussed a host of issues including climate change.
During the debate, the host asked Biden whether his actions and regulations to limit climate change would hurt job creation in America. As Biden responded, President Donald Trump asked him whether he would “close down the oil industry”.
“I would transition from the oil industry, yes,” Biden said, adding that “the oil industry pollutes and has to be replaced by renewable energy over time”.
The Democratic Presidential nominee also added that he would end subsidies for the oil and gas industry.
Responding to Biden’s call to bring an end to the oil industry, President Trump called it “the biggest statement in terms of business” of the debate.
Trump blasted Biden’s statement, saying he had essentially vowed to “destroy” the oil industry.
“That’s maybe the biggest statement in terms of business. What he is saying is he is going to destroy the oil industry,” Trump said.
“Will you remember that, Texas? Will you remember that Pennsylvania? Oklahoma? Ohio?” he added. The Trump camp has stated that Biden’s policies aim to destroy jobs and kill businesses. “Most shockingly, Joe Biden pledged to end the oil industry, which would kill millions of jobs and cripple our economy. And you could see visibly that Joe Biden realized he had made a grave error in what he said” spokesperson Tim Murtaugh said.
The Nashville debate was the last of three debates scheduled ahead of the US elections on November 3. The first debate took place on September 29 at Ohio, followed by another Presidential debate on October 15. The Vice Presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris was also held on October 7.
