Just The News
While Vice President and Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has been mostly silent on her energy and climate positions — or as some media outlets are reporting it, she’s being “strategically ambiguous” — Donald Trump has made strong statements on his positions.
Last month, the former president and Republican presidential nominee vowed to end the electric vehicle mandate on day one, if he’s elected. A month before he said he’d restart drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve, and he’s said he’d cut some funding that came out of President Joe Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act.
Since then, Trump has received strong endorsements from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and the two of them held a live interview on X last Tuesday. Besides making electric cars, Musk has been a crusader for solar, claiming that solar power coupled with batteries could power the worldand expressing support for a carbon tax. The interview was seen by at least 95 million people, according to trade journal The Wrap, but the audience estimates vary widely…
Steve Milloy, a senior legal fellow with the Energy and Environmental Legal Institute and publisher of “JunkScience.com,” told Just the News, he didn’t see Trump changing his positions on energy and climate.
“He did not soften his stance on climate being a hoax. I mean, he didn’t confront Elon [Musk], but that’s fine. He just…’okay, whatever.’ He’s like ‘let’s talk,’ and then they moved on. Elon said his piece. And that was fine,” Milloy said.
In the interview on X, Trump and Musk discussed electric cars, and while Trump has previously stated he’ll do away with the EV mandate, his statements were toned down when speaking with Musk.
“You do make a great product. I have to say, I have to be honest with you. That doesn’t mean everybody should have an electric car, but these are minor details. Your product is incredible,” Trump said.
While the Biden administration has included EV mandates as part of its overall climate agenda, Trump discussed the role fossil fuels play in EVs.
“Even to create your electric car and create the electricity needed for the electric car, you know, fossil fuel is what really creates that at the generating plants. And, you know, so you sort of can’t get away from it at this moment. I mean, someday you might be able to,” Trump said.
Milloy said, as with climate change, he didn’t see any change in Trump’s position on EVs.
“I don’t see him wavering at all. EV mandates got to go. He said that,” Milloy said.
Milloy said that Musk isn’t likely threatened by an end to the mandates. Tesla was doing well before the mandate was finalized.
“He became the world’s richest man without the EV mandate, because there’s a certain demand for Tesla,” Milloy said. “The other [auto] makers do, because they’re much clumsier than Tesla is, and they make much clumsier products.”
