Former President Donald Trump attacked President Joe Biden over his encouragement of electric vehicles, skipping the second consecutive Republican presidential debate to make a pitch to auto workers in Michigan.
Trump spoke at a non-union auto-parts maker Drake Enterprises in Clinton Township, Mich., a day after Biden joined striking United Auto Workers on the picket line in Belleville, Mich.
Trump accused Biden of having an electric-vehicle “mandate,” charging that it would “put you all out of business.” He pledged that if elected again, automobiles would be made in the U.S., not overseas.
Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesman, slammed Trump’s speech in a statement.
“Donald Trump is lying about President Biden’s agenda to distract from his failed track record of trickle-down tax cuts, closed factories and jobs outsourced to China. There is no ‘EV mandate.’”
“Simply put: Trump had the United States losing the EV race to China and if he had his way, the jobs of the future would be going to China,” Munoz said.
The Trump campaign said the former president’s visit would include current striking UAW members, a claim UAW sources questioned because they said there had been no official outreach by the campaign.
Trump’s appearance in Michigan once again created a split screen for Republicans, as seven GOP hopefuls were preparing to face off in California for their second debate.
Trump, who has an commanding lead in polls over his fellow Republican candidates, has chosen to focus largely on Biden instead of his GOP rivals. During the last debate, the former president sat for an interview with Tucker Carlson and spent time attacking Biden, accusing him of being corrupt.
Biden in turn has blasted Trump’s economic record and said he endangers U.S. democracy.
