AP FACT CHECK: Trump on ‘war on energy’
Posted January 30, 2018 4:27 pm.
Last Updated January 30, 2018 5:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON – A look at one of President Donald Trump’s statements Tuesday night and how it compares with the facts:
TRUMP: “We have ended the war on American energy – and we have ended the war on clean coal.” — excerpt of speech released by White House.
THE FACTS: Energy production was unleashed in past administrations, particularly Barack Obama’s, making accusations of a “war on energy” hard to sustain. Advances in hydraulic fracturing before Trump became president made it economical to tap vast reserves of natural gas. Oil production also greatly increased, reducing imports.
Before the 2016 presidential election, the U.S. for the first time in decades was getting more energy domestically than it imports. Before Obama, George W. Bush was no adversary of the energy industry.
One of Trump’s consequential actions as president on this front was to approve the Keystone XL pipeline — a source of foreign oil, from Canada.
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EDITOR’S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
