Former President Donald Trump addressed the electric vehicle industry Sunday during a pit stop in America’s auto manufacturing capital, warning that the regulatory push for EVs will kill Michigan jobs.
While speaking to Republicans in Oakland County, Trump blasted President Joe Biden for his “environmental extremism” that is placing “ridiculous regulations” on the EV industry, The Hill reported.
“Driven by his ridiculous regulations, electric cars will kill more than half of U.S. 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,” Trump said. “It’s going to be decimation. It’s going to be at a level that that people can’t even imagine.”
“The state of Michigan is going to be decimation,” he added. “It’s going to be at a level that people can’t even imagine.”
The Biden administration wants to electrify 67% of all commercial passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2032. The White House released a fact sheet announcing investments for the car industry, intending to boost EV purchases to make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030. As part of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks “to bring a clean, safe, affordable, and reliable transportation future to Americans,” certain buyers receive tax credits for purchasing new and used EVs.
The Michigan economy is fueled by the auto industry, which makes up more than 175,000 jobs in the state. Ford and GM, both Michigan-based automakers, have moved toward EV manufacturing with encouragement from the White House. Reports last week indicated that Ford is poised to receive the largest government check for an automaker since the 2009 bailouts thanks to a $9.2 billion loan intended to help construct three electric vehicle battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Earlier this year, Michigan lawmakers cleared a deal for the state to partially fund the construction of an EV battery plant factory with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
In his speech, Trump touted the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a deal he signed as president, saying that it focused on ensuring “more cars are made in American factories by American workers.” The former president then told the crowd gathered in Michigan that Democrats led by Biden “want every car to be all electric.”
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“Except you don’t make all electric cars too much,” Trump said. “You know who does — China.”
Trump won Michigan in 2016 on his way to the White House but then lost the state to Biden in 2020. The former president continues to lead 2024 Republican presidential primary polls even after federal indictments in two separate cases landed him in court in Manhattan and Miami. In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records related to alleged hush money payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels, and earlier this month, he pleaded not guilty to federal charges in his handling of classified documents.