Washington, Aug 30 (IANS): US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said her “values have not changed” as she has altered her position on key issues that could determine her elections, such as fracking, which she had once opposed and now doesn’t.

She said this during an interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash on Thursday. This was Harris’ first interview after taking over the Democratic ticket for the White House amidst questions about her candidacy raised by her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump and his allies, who attacked her for avoiding unscripted interactions with reporters.

Fracking, a process of extracting natural gas and petroleum from deep inside rocks, is popular in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that will determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, along with a handful of other such states. It is opposed by those who argue it contaminates underground and surface water. Harris had opposed it earlier and said it should be banned.

“No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020 that I would not ban fracking as vice president,” Harris said when asked if she would ban the practice on Thursday. “I did not ban fracking as president. I will not ban fracking…. In 2020 I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024 and I've not changed that position, nor will I be going forward. I kept my word, and I will keep my word.”

“What made you change that position at the time?” the interviewer asked.

“Well, let's be clear, my values have not changed,” the vice president answered.

Harris held her own in the interview and gave it back.

“When Joe Biden and I came in office during the height of a pandemic, we saw over 10 million jobs were lost, people, literally, we were all tracking the numbers., hundreds of people a day were dying because of Covid,” the vice president, who is of Indian descent, said, adding, “The economy had crashed, in large part, all of that because of mismanagement by Donald Trump.”