Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden Jr. reaffirmed Thursday that he will not ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) if elected and said his ambitious climate change goals do not mean ending fossil fuel production, while energy and climate issues were not raised in President Trump’s separate town hall.

town hall backstop

Thursday initially was scheduled to be a combined town hall. Instead the candidates separately participated in simultaneously broadcast events. Biden’s event in Philadelphia lasted 90 minutes and Trump’s forum in Miami was one hour.

During the president’s town hall, he was peppered with questions focused largely on the administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic — and his experiences recovering from the virus. However, there were no queries regarding oil...