Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump vowed to end the push for electric vehicles, calling the trend “madness” in a series of social media posts.
Trump took his shots at the electric vehicle industry on Monday evening in a post aimed toward Michigan voters, who supported Biden in the 2020 election.
“The Great State of Michigan will not have an auto industry anymore if Crooked Joe Biden’s crazed concept of ‘all Electric Cars’ goes into effect,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “CHINA WILL TAKE IT ALL, 100%. United Auto Workers, VOTE FOR TRUMP. Get your leaders to ENDORSE ME, I WILL KEEP ALL OF THESE GREAT JOBS, AND BRING IN MANY MORE. CHOICE IN SCHOOLS, AND CHOICE IN CARS!!!”
The Biden administration has made a push to boost electric car sales, offering tax rebates and other benefits to Americans who make the jump.
The Environmental Protection Agency has now predicted that by 2023, two-thirds of all new car sales could be electric, thanks to a Biden proposal from earlier this year.
To accommodate a move to electric vehicles, the Energy Department said last week that it was planning on investing $12 billion into converting auto manufacturing facilities into plants for hybrid and electric vehicles.
Trump’s post also comes on the heels of a potential United Auto Workers strike. In one post, Trump criticized the president of the union, Shawn Fain, who supported the Biden administration’s investment in electric vehicles.
“Shawn Fain, the respected President of the United Auto Workers, cannot even think about allowing ALL ELECTRIC CARS — THEY WILL ALL BE MADE IN CHINA, and the Auto Industry in America will cease to exist!” Trump wrote in his post. “Vote for TRUMP, and I will stop this Madness, IMMEDIATELY!” he said. “Mexico & Canada LOVE Biden’s idiotic policy. SAVE MICHIGAN and the other Auto States. SAVE THE AMERICAN CONSUMER!!!”
A UAW strike would see 146,000 workers at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis go on strike if a contract isn’t struck by the Sept. 14 deadline.
In Michigan, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy reports that there were more than 175,000 auto manufacturing jobs in 2021.
The UAW is calling for a 46% pay raise, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, and restoration of traditional pensions.