Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has reversed her 2019 pledge to ban plastic straws, according to a report from Axios. During a CNN Town Hall in 2019, Harris expressed support for banning plastic straws as a way to combat the climate crisis, despite acknowledging the challenges of using paper straws.
“I think we should, yes,” Harris said at the time. “I mean, look, I’m going to be honest: It’s really difficult to drink out of a paper straw… We gotta kind of perfect that one a little bit more.” Harris emphasized the need for innovation in developing alternatives to plastic straws, stating that “we can do a little better than some of those flimsy plastic straws.”
However, the Harris campaign has now stated that banning plastic straws is “no longer her position.” This reversal comes as many parts of the country have implemented bans on plastic straws due to growing concerns about plastic pollution in oceans and waterways.
When asked for comment, the Harris campaign emphasized her commitment to addressing climate change and creating clean energy jobs. “She cast the tie-breaking vote on the most consequential legislation to combat climate change and create clean energy jobs in history, and as President, she is going to be focused on expanding on that progress,” the statement read. The campaign also acknowledged Harris’s past criticism of paper straws, stating that she “joked even then about how crappy paper straws are and the need to come up with better eco-friendly alternatives.”
This reversal on plastic straws is not the first time Harris has changed her stance on a key issue. Last week, she also walked back her previous call to ban fracking, despite having stated during the 2020 primary that she was in favor of banning the practice. When confronted with her past statements, Harris claimed that she never actually pledged to ban fracking, saying “I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020… As president, I will not ban fracking.”
