Donald Trump derided electric vehicles as inefficient and “ridiculous” throughout a stump speech as South Carolina’s Governor Henry McMaster, a proponent of EVs, stood behind him. The Republican governor invited the previous president to the state capitol for an occasion introducing the Trump campaign’s South Carolina management crew on Saturday. This was Trump’s second marketing campaign occasion of the day, following a day speech in New Hampshire.
“They need obligatory electrical vehicles. The automobile goes for like two hours,” Trump mentioned of the Democrats whereas McMaster, who has endorsed his 2024 marketing campaign, stood behind him. However as Related Press nationwide politics reporter, Meg Kinnard, famous in a tweet, McMaster mere months in the past signed an govt order to entice electrical vehicle-related companies to the state.
“What are you gonna do? Everybody’s gonna be sitting on the freeway. We’re all gonna be searching for just a little plug in. ‘Does anyone have a plug in? My automobile simply stopped, we’ve been driving for an hour and 51 minutes.’ It’s ridiculous,” Trump mocked. At this level, McMaster began to chuckle.
However this needed to be an ungainly second for the governor, who has thrown his help and political energy behind electrical autos in recent times. In October, he signed an executive order to prioritize recruitment of companies associated to electrical autos and set up a jobs coaching program. He additionally created a working group to plan for EV infrastructure. In 2021, South Carolina received a $155 million contract for Oshkosh Protection to build United States Postal Service neighborhood supply autos, which it says will create greater than 1,000 jobs. BMW can be investing $1.7 billion to extend its EV manufacturing capabilities in South Carolina.
“Because the business continues to maneuver in the direction of electrical autos, South Carolina will transfer together with it — working to make sure that our state will proceed to be seen as the perfect place for producers and suppliers to do enterprise,” McMaster mentioned when he signed the order within the fall. “Together with these investments come good-paying jobs that our individuals might be able to tackle.”
However McMaster didn’t say something about EVs when Trump invited him to talk on the podium on Saturday. As a substitute the governor lavished reward on the previous president, saying, “In Nov. 2024, we’ll re-elect Donald Trump, and we’ll see a burst of freedom and prosperity in contrast to we now have ever seen earlier than.”
