Biden Declares “No More Drilling” at New York Rally, Then KJP Says Companies Should Be Drilling More — The Same Week Biden Said “They Should Be Drilling More”

On 11/6/2022, two days before the midterm elections, President Biden declared “no more drilling” at a campaign event in Westchester County, New York — directly contradicting his own statement from four days earlier in New Mexico where he said oil companies “should be drilling more.” KJP was forced to clean up the contradiction the next day, claiming Biden was specifically asked about “new drilling in the Arctic.” Biden also claimed the Inflation Reduction Act would “reduce the cost of everything that New Yorkers pay for every month,” tripped on stage (“Whoops! Stepping on a — uh, anyway!”), and praised far-left Rep. Jamaal Bowman. The compilation also included a reporter pressing KJP on whether the White House was signaling that TikTok was safe by hosting TikTok influencers while a national security review was ongoing.

”No More Drilling”

An activist in the crowd asked Biden about fossil fuels, and Biden responded with the declaration that would dominate the final 48 hours before the midterms. “No more drilling. There is no more drilling,” Biden said. “I haven’t formed any new drilling.”

Biden then attempted to clarify — or perhaps confused himself further. “I’ve only survived more years of offshore drilling. No, I — I’ve only been in the Atlantic and off the Gulf of New Mexico — or off the Gulf of New Mexico. That was before I was president,” Biden said, producing a garbled explanation that seemed to reference offshore drilling permits but was nearly impossible to parse.

The “no more drilling” declaration was politically devastating because it confirmed what Republicans had been arguing throughout the midterm campaign: Biden’s energy policy was designed to eliminate fossil fuel production, not expand it. The statement contradicted the White House’s months-long talking point that Biden was encouraging domestic production and that oil companies were choosing not to drill on approved permits.

The Contradiction With “They Should Be Drilling More”

Four days before the “no more drilling” declaration, Biden had said the opposite in New Mexico. “The oil companies should be drilling more,” Biden stated on November 2. “And that if they were drilling more, we would have more relief at the pump.”

A reporter confronted KJP with this direct contradiction the next day. “He said last Thursday in New Mexico, the oil companies, quote, ‘should be drilling more.’ So does he see that statement as being in conflict with the Sunday statement — should they be drilling more or less for oil?” the reporter asked.

KJP’s answer was to repeat the 9,000 drilling permits talking point. “Oil companies are sitting on 9,000 — again, 9,000 — unused but approved drilling permits. They’re sitting on them,” KJP said. “There’s no shortage of opportunity for companies to produce oil here in the United States.”

The 9,000 permits defense did not address the contradiction. Biden told oil companies to drill more on Thursday. Biden said “no more drilling” on Sunday. KJP’s response — that permits existed — didn’t explain why the president had given opposite instructions within the same week.

KJP’s Arctic Cleanup

KJP attempted to narrow Biden’s “no more drilling” to a specific context. “The president was asked about new drilling in the Arctic,” KJP said. “When the Trump administration opened the Arctic Refuge for drilling, not a single major oil company actually bid on the sale.”

The cleanup was strained. Biden’s statement — “No more drilling. There is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling” — was not limited to the Arctic. He made a blanket declaration that applied to all drilling, said it three times for emphasis, and then stumbled through confused references to offshore drilling that had nothing to do with the Arctic.

”Reduce the Cost of Everything”

Biden made one of his most sweeping claims about the IRA. “I signed the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s gonna reduce the cost of everything that New Yorkers pay for every month,” Biden said.

The claim that the IRA would reduce “everything” New Yorkers paid for was not supported by any analysis — including the administration’s own. The bill’s consumer-facing provisions were limited to specific categories: Medicare drug pricing (starting 2026), ACA premium subsidies, and clean energy tax credits requiring upfront investment. It did not reduce grocery prices, rent, gas prices, utility bills, or the vast majority of costs that comprised “everything” New Yorkers paid monthly.

The CBO had found the IRA’s impact on overall inflation was “negligible.” Multiple independent analyses confirmed the bill would not meaningfully reduce consumer costs across the board. Biden’s claim that it would “reduce the cost of everything” was one of his most exaggerated characterizations of the legislation.

”Whoops!”

Biden tripped on stage during the event. “Whoops! Stepping on a — uh, anyway!” Biden said, catching himself. The stumble added to a growing catalog of physical incidents — including multiple staircase trips on Air Force One and a bicycle fall in Delaware — that fueled concerns about Biden’s physical condition.

The TikTok Question

The compilation included a reporter pressing KJP on the contradiction of hosting TikTok influencers at the White House while a national security review of the app was ongoing. “Rubio argues that by hosting some of these TikTok influencers here at the White House, the president is essentially signaling to the world he believes it is safe to use an app that is beholden to Beijing,” the reporter said.

KJP declined to comment substantively, citing the ongoing CFIUS review. “Not going to comment on TikTok while the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review is ongoing,” KJP said.

When the reporter pressed — “If there’s a risk and that review is ongoing, why continue to invite these folks to the White House?” — KJP said “the president uses different mediums” without addressing the security contradiction.

The Final Weekend Pattern

The compilation captured the chaos of Biden’s final midterm weekend. In three days, he had: declared “no more drilling” (contradicting his own statement from Thursday), claimed the IRA would reduce “the cost of everything” (unsupported by any analysis), tripped on stage, praised far-left Rep. Jamaal Bowman in a deep-blue district, and created two more news cycles of cleanup for KJP.

The pattern was consistent with the entire closing stretch: Biden’s unscripted moments generated more coverage than his scripted messages, his verbal stumbles overshadowed policy substance, and the communications team spent more time explaining what the president “meant” than amplifying what he “said.”

Key Takeaways

Biden declared “no more drilling” at a New York rally — four days after saying oil companies “should be drilling more” in New Mexico.
KJP claimed Biden was specifically asked about Arctic drilling, but his statement — “no more drilling, there is no more drilling” — was a blanket declaration.
Biden claimed the IRA would “reduce the cost of everything that New Yorkers pay for every month” — the CBO said its inflation impact was “negligible.”
He tripped on stage (“Whoops!”) and produced garbled sentences about offshore drilling “in the Atlantic and off the Gulf of New Mexico.”
A reporter pressed KJP on why the White House hosted TikTok influencers while a national security review of the app was ongoing.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

No more drilling. There is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling.
I signed the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s gonna reduce the cost of everything that New Yorkers pay for every month.
He said last Thursday oil companies should be drilling more. Does he see that as being in conflict with the Sunday statement?
Oil companies are sitting on 9,000 unused but approved drilling permits. They’re sitting on them.
The president was asked about new drilling in the Arctic.
If there’s a risk and that review is ongoing, why continue to invite TikTok influencers to the White House?

Full transcript: 737 words transcribed via Whisper AI.