Mixed Media Coverage on Trump’s EV Comments at Recent Campaign Event
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Former President Donald Trump made remarks about electric vehicles at a campaign event in Iowa over the weekend, spurring mixed media coverage across the spectrum.
The Details: Trump said if Biden’s EV plan, which received $1.7 billion earlier this year via his 2021 infrastructure plan, were to stand, “gas-powered cars will be gone.” He also said electric boats have batteries so heavy they will sink and that electric cars can only drive for 30 minutes before needing to be recharged.
For Context: The Biden Administration has been ambitious in its efforts to move America towards EVs. At the event, Trump made a campaign promise to encourage the use of gas-powered vehicles, and undo Biden’s “job-killing electric vehicle mandate on day one.” Iowa produces 4.1 billion gallons of ethanol annually, which is found in 98% of U.S. gasoline, according to the Department of Energy.
How The Media Covered It: The Guardian (Lean Left bias) and other outlets on the left, including The Independent (Lean Left bias), and The Daily Dot (Lean Left bias), framed coverage through a comment Trump made during the event, saying he would prefer to be electrocuted than eaten by a shark. They also mentioned Trump’s comments about sharks to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Newsweek Fact Check (Center bias) examined Trump’s claims about vehicles’ batteries, rating them both as false. Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) framed coverage through Trump’s promise to undo Biden’s EV policies and did not mention his electrocution or battery-related comments.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Trump says he would prefer to die by electrocution in bizarre campaign rantFaced with a litany of criminal charges, Donald Trump on Sunday told a campaign rally in Iowa that he would prefer to die by electrocution rather than be eaten by a shark if he ever found himself on a rapidly sinking, electrically powered boat.
The former president and frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination delivered the bizarre remarks during a speech in the community of Ottumwa. He was pontificating over batteries for electric powered boats while recounting a conversation he claimed to have had with a boat manufacturer in...
From the Center
Fact Check: Donald Trump's Theories About Electric VehiclesDonald Trump has long maintained misleading and inaccurate beliefs about the effects of climate change and efforts to halt it, rolling back nearly 100 environmental rules and regulations during his presidency.
The former president has made multiple false claims on the topic, having previously called climate change "a hoax."
During a recent campaign speech in Iowa, Trump shared more dubious theories and ideas, offering his thoughts on environmentally friendly electric vehicles and what he believed to be their inefficiencies.
From the Right
Trump commits to undo Biden's 'absolutely insane, job-killing' electric vehicle plan if electedFormer President Donald Trump made a campaign promise to promote traditional gas-powered vehicles over their electric counterparts.
Trump was on the campaign trail on Sunday, stopping in Iowa, which produces 4.1 billion gallons of ethanol annually. The former president attacked President Joe Biden's tailpipe emission rules as proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency — rules the EPA predicts will cause fully electric vehicles to make up two-thirds of all new "light-duty" and 46% of new medium-duty vehicle sales by 2032.
"If Joe Biden's extremist mandate is allowed to stand, gas-powered...
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