We have never been closer to knowing who the next president of the United States will be. It is in fact from November 5, and in the days that follow, that we will know which candidate, Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, will have been placed in the lead by voters. Responsible, we remind you, for voting for their respective camps, Democratic or Republican, and the electors who represent them.
Without returning to a campaign which was as long for Trump as it was short for Harris, who took over from an aging Biden, nor the blows the candidates dealt each other, it is a divisive subject which well represents the political battle between the two camps: the electric car. And, on his own, he could tip one of the “key states”, the famous “swing states”.
Two irreconcilable camps
If, in the United States, the blows are often given below the belt, with attacks on form much more than on substance, electric vehicles are one of those subjects regularly addressed by candidates. And which have the merit of giving rise to strong opinions. Unsurprisingly, and as on our side of the Atlantic, electric vehicles are divisive.
It must be said that Joe Biden, the outgoing president, has done a lot with his administration to develop it. It tightened emissions standards and subsidized zero-emission (tailpipe) vehicles. With the desire for half of the cars sold in the territory to be electric in 2030, it has also put in place protectionist measures to avoid opening the door to Chinese manufacturers. Like taxing Chinese electric cars at 100%. Kamala Harris is therefore a continuation of the man for whom she was, and still is, the vice-president.
Trump, not apart from a contradiction
On Donald Trump’s side, it is a question of taking the complete opposite of his predecessor. He thus announced that he would return to the measures “from the first day” of his presidency. Moreover, for the ex-president, electric cars are seen as “job killers”, because they require less labor in their production. “I will end the electric car mandate on day one, saving the auto industry from complete obliteration and saving American customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car,” he said in a speech last July.
Except that, if Donald Trump criticizes the electric car so much, one of its greatest defenders, and above all financial support, is none other than Elon Musk. The CEO of Tesla. Contradictory, you say? So, in recent months, Trump has softened on the subject, explaining that he will tolerate “a small share” of electric cars. Just so as not to backpedal too much either.
Candidates who walk on eggshells
If the candidates are walking on eggshells on the subject of electric cars, it is because it is at the heart of the debates in a particularly important state: Michigan. It is in fact one of the key states through which everything can swing in one direction or the other. And Michigan is precisely the historic heart of the American automobile industry.
Thus, Kamala Harris was careful at the beginning of October not to offend the powerful union of auto industry workers, the UAW, thus backpedaling compared to her speech, not so long ago, which promised that all new cars would be electric in 2035: “I will never tell you which car to drive.” This apparently convinced the UAW, which officially supports the Democratic candidate. “It really feels like our jobs are on the line. Donald Trump doesn’t care about our jobs,” said Hazen Turner, a Stellantis employee who campaigns for the UAW.
On the other hand, a minority has formed around Donald Trump with a group called “Autoworkers for Trump”, which brandishes “Electric China” as the main threat if Kamala Harris becomes president. Remember that in 2016 and 2020, Michigan placed the winner of the presidential elections in the lead. We will know in a few days which of the two candidates will have convinced the most.
