Monday, June 26, 2023

Trump accuses Biden of 'environmental extremism' over electric cars

Former US president says the Democrat leader's 'maniacal push' for EVs will decimate the auto industry
US CORRESPONDENT
26 June 2023 •
Donald Trump was the keynote speaker at the Oakland County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner in Detroit on Sunday 
CREDIT: AL GOLDIS/AP PHOTO

Donald Trump has taken aim at electric cars and accused Joe Biden of carrying out “environmental extremism” to “decimate” the traditional auto industry.

Speaking to a crowd of 2,500 at a dinner in Michigan on Sunday, the former US president said the “maniacal push” for electric vehicles would take away jobs and empower China.

In his first visit to Michigan since he launched his 2024 presidential bid, Mr Trump, 77, warned the Democrats would “decimate” the state to a level “you can’t even imagine”.

He said the Democrat leader was a “catastrophe” for the state and that “his environmental extremism is heartless and disloyal and horrible for the American worker, and you’re starting to see it”.


The former US president was presented with a Man of the Decade award at the Lincoln Day Dinner CREDIT: SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

During an hour-long speech at the Oakland County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day dinner in Detroit, Mr Trump criticised Mr Biden’s “ridiculous regulations”, which he said would “kill more than half of US auto jobs and decimate the suppliers that they decimated already, decimate the suppliers and it’s going to decimate your jobs, and it’s going to decimate more than anybody else, the state of Michigan”.

The Republican 2024 frontrunner, who was presented with a Man of the Decade award at the event, added: “The push for all electric cars, it’s killing the United States, it’s killing Michigan and it’s a total vote for China.”

Michigan is one of three states that flipped in 2020 to help Mr Biden win the election. The state had more than 175,000 car manufacturing jobs in 2021, according to the Mackinac Centre for Public Policy.

A busy Los Angeles freeway during the evening rush hour 
CREDIT: FREDERIC J BROWN/GETTY IMAGES

The US Environmental Protection Agency estimated that two thirds of new car sales could be electric by 2032 under a new proposal released by the White House this year.

Mr Trump also criticised Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, for approving $700 million development incentives for a battery plant that is expected to create thousands of jobs.

He said: “The governor of your state is now giving away hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of billions of Michigan taxpayer dollars to Chinese companies and one in particular, Gotion, to build batteries in Michigan.

“That sounds good, but the money’s going to Chinese companies and then they’re gonna leave. They’re planning to take our money and then they say, ‘Bye bye, you stupid fools’.”

Joe Biden highlighted his investment in electric vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show last year 
CREDIT: KATIE McTIERNAN/GETTY IMAGES

Mr Biden has been pushing Americans to switch to electric cars as part of his “Green New Deal”. His promotion for the industry included holding a photo call in which he was filmed driving an electric truck at breakneck speed.

There are about 130,000 charging points for the three million electric vehicles on the road in the US. Electric cars account for 5.8 per cent of sales in the US, compared with 16.2 per cent of cars sold in Britain.





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