Biden Says ‘No More Drilling’ at New York Rally Ahead of Midterms

President Joe Biden speaks at a rally for New York incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state Democrats in Yonkers, New York, on Nov. 6, 2022. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden made an unexpected comment against oil drilling on Sunday while speaking at a rally to support New York’s Democrat governor in her bid to remain in office.

Biden blurted out that there would be “no more drilling” during his presidency, after an exchange with a climate protester during a rally to support Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York.

The president was speaking at Sarah Lawrence College in New York on Nov. 6, boasting about his administration’s achievements and attacking Republicans like Hochul’s rival, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.).

Biden’s unscripted remarks came after he was heckled by a climate protester toward the end of his speech.

The protester was holding up a sign that read “5 more years of drilling is a lose lose!” and was shouting at Biden about offshore drilling leases.

As the heckler persisted, Biden shot back, “there is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling.” The protester again shouted her objections to “offshore drilling” in the Antarctic and the Gulf of Mexico.

“That was before I was president. We’re trying to work on that to get that done,” Biden responded.

Republicans and other critics immediately shot back at the president’s comments.

“Two days before the midterm elections, Joe Biden clearly states he is for ‘no more [oil] drilling,’” the Republican National Committee (RNC) posted on Twitter.

Biden’s staff immediately walked back the president’s comments, after much pushback from the public and even members of his own party, such as Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded by explaining that the president’s comments “have been twisted to suggest a meaning that was not intended,” and that he regrets it if anyone was offended.

“The President was commenting on a fact of economics and technology: as it has been from the earliest days as an energy superpower, America is once against in the midst of an energy transition,” Jean-Pierre stated.

Biden’s War on Domestic Fuel Production

Biden’s candid admission amounted to a doubling down of his administration’s controversial war against domestic energy production just before the midterms, which have in part led to a rise in gas and diesel prices.

He previously announced on Nov. 4 that coal plants all across the United States would be shut down and replaced with wind and solar.

“We’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America,” said Biden, adding that it is “cheaper to generate electricity from wind and solar than it is from coal and oil.”

“Literally cheaper,” the president continued, saying it was “not a joke.”

The RNC responded in a tweet, saying “Joe Biden celebrates coal plant workers losing their jobs.”

The president has been repeatedly blaming skyrocketing energy prices on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, OPEC production cuts, and alleged price gouging by the U.S. oil and natural gas industry.

However, the average price of gas was $2.37 per gallon when Biden took office in January 2021, well before the Ukraine war, according to the Energy Information Administration. As of Nov. 7, the average price of gas was $3.80 per gallon, according to AAA.

Democrats’ Energy Policies Ahead of Midterms

Biden’s remarks at the rally may hurt Democrats in the midterms, as gas prices continue to go up, with many Americans blaming his green energy and anti-fossil fuel crusade as a major contributing factor to the surge.

“Biden has long insisted he’s no obstacle to expanded oil drilling,” environmentalist and author Michael Shellenberger wrote in a tweet with a video of Biden in June saying the United States needs to increase refining capacity and that it was not true that his administration had been limiting oil production.

“In fact, Biden killed a refinery on May 14 and killed a 1M acre oil & gas lease in Alaska in May 12,” Shellenberger noted.

“By shouting ‘No More Drilling. There is no more drilling!’ at a New York rally, Biden has effectively admitted that he & his administration have been lying for months,” Shellenberger said in a tweet.

Biden Attempts to Pass the Blame

Biden has tapped into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase the supply of oil, depleting the reserve in the process, in an effort to bring down gas prices ahead of the midterm elections.

Biden also attempted to convince Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the summer to increase oil production, but it backfired when the kingdom sided with OPEC to cut oil output by a few million barrels, greatly embarrassing the administration.

“Recent key petroleum refinery shutdowns and federal and state policies discouraging increasing U.S. fossil fuel production and refinery capacity have all contributed to the price increases,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told FOX Business.

Meanwhile, Hochul’s poll number have been dropping in an increasingly tight race, as she hopes to keep her governorship just two days before the election against Zeldin.

A former lieutenant governor, Hochul became governor of New York after her predecessor, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was forced to resign due to multiple scandals. Her administration has since been mired in political controversy, skyrocketing crime rates, and flagging poll numbers.

The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment.