Former President Donald Trump said during a campaign stop in Iowa on Friday that President Joe Biden wants to plunder the state's economy by forcing all Americans to use electric cars.
Iowa is a main source of ethanol fuel, which is derived from corn. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 45% of corn grown in the nation is used for ethanol. Biden has directed his Environmental Protection Agency to draft strict emissions rules that, if enacted, would ensure two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy-duty trucks sold in the United States are all-electric by 2032.
"With the insane Green New Deal, Joe Biden is trying to totally kill Iowa ethanol and replace it with expensive electric cars," Trump said. "This is what the people want, electric cars. Everybody wants to drive for an hour and then run out of energy."
Trump said he has no problem with people buying electric cars, but it should not be forced upon them, especially, he said, if the U.S. has more "liquid gold" (oil) than any other nation.
"If you want an electric car, yeah, you should have an electric car," Trump said. "We're all for it. But if you want another type of car, if you want hybrids, you've got to be able to buy it.
"They want to go all-electric. In California, they don't call them brownouts anymore. They call them blackouts. The whole state doesn't have any electricity and now they want to go to all-electric cars. These people are insane. They're trying to destroy our country."
Trump said there is only one industry in the U.S. that is in favor of having all electric cars.
"The only industry that's in love with that all-electric cars, you know what it is?" Trump said. "The tow truck industry because after driving for 49 minutes and your car is stopped in the middle of nowhere, who do you call? Could you get me a tow truck? Where the hell do I get this car recharged?
"No, if you want electric, that's great. And if you want gasoline, that's great. But it's so crazy what they're doing to our country."
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