Over the weekend, big news is spreading in the United States again!
According to Bloomberg, Republican lawmakers in the United States have revealed that former US President Trump recently stated in a private meeting that if he takes office in the White House, it will completely reverse Biden's electric vehicle policy. Trump complained, "Biden forced people to buy electric cars."
In addition, according to a report on Microsoft's online website on June 15th, Trump said he would "absolutely not" ban the social media application TikTok. The report points out that for Trump, this is a significant reversal. The report suggests that the background behind Trump's change of tone is his efforts to attract young voters, most of whom are active users of TikTok.
Criticizing electric vehicle policies
On June 13th local time, former US President Trump visited Congress and held meetings with Republicans in both houses of Congress. According to Bloomberg, lawmakers attending a private meeting stated that Trump criticized Biden's electric vehicle policies during a meeting with House Republicans and stated that if he takes office in November, he will revoke these policies.
Idaho Republican Representative Russ Fulcher said in a media interview that Trump told lawmakers, "Biden's authorization of all batteries and electrification is crazy." Fulcher said, "He (Trump) said policies will be completely reversed. He made it very, very clear that he opposes our existing policies."
In addition, Virginia Republican Representative Morgan Griffith stated that Trump complained during the meeting that Biden forced people to buy electric cars. "He said that's too crazy, he will do something," Griffith quoted Trump's remarks in an interview.
On March 20th, the Biden administration announced the introduction of strict regulations on automobile exhaust emissions. According to the latest 2027-2032 emission standards released by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the upper limit of carbon dioxide emissions for the 2027 model year is 170 grams per mile, and by 2032, it will be 85 grams. The above regulations are known by the market as the "strictest new car emission regulations in American history".
According to the new regulations, car manufacturers can meet the emission requirements for 2032 by increasing the sales of pure electric vehicles to 56% of total sales, plug-in hybrid models to 13% of total sales, and traditional combustion engine models to 29% of total sales.
However, oil and ethanol industry organizations in the United States have recently filed a lawsuit to block this emission standard, claiming that these limits are "illegal" and forcing car manufacturers to sell electric vehicles.
According to reports, Biden has made the shift towards battery powered cars one of his top climate and industrial policies, and has set a goal of converting 50% of new car sales into electric vehicles by 2030. In contrast, Trump made no secret of his contempt for electric vehicles, claiming that they would not work and would benefit other countries, while also harming American car workers.
What did Trump say?
According to multiple foreign media outlets such as the Associated Press and CBS, Trump's visit to Congress on Thursday marks his first return to the scene since the 2021 Capitol Hill riots. This move has caused dissatisfaction from the Democratic Party, and former Speaker of the House Pelosi has accused Trump of "returning to the crime scene.".
The Associated Press reported that Trump's meeting with lawmakers was welcomed by Republicans in the House and Senate, who found themselves rejuvenated by his efforts to regain the White House. CBS reported that Trump met with Republican members of the House of Representatives and met with Republican members of the Senate on the same day. After meeting with Republican senators, Trump stated that "the Republican Party is very united," but did not answer questions from reporters.
CBS mentioned that even Senate Republican minority leader McConnell, who has been publicly criticizing Trump for many years, stated that the meeting with Trump was "very positive". The Associated Press also mentioned that at a striking moment, Trump shook hands with his most famous Republican critic, McConnell.
According to reports, Trump spent about an hour each giving speeches to Republicans in the House and Senate, answering questions, discussing issues including Russia and immigration, tax cuts, and other potential priorities for re-election.
During a meeting with Republican lawmakers in Congress, Trump criticized the United States for providing aid to Ukraine. In April of this year, the US House of Representatives approved a bill to provide over $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, which had previously been passed in the Senate. For a long time, Trump and his supporters have opposed providing aid to Ukraine.
Trump also proposed reducing corporate income tax. According to CNBC, Trump will also meet at least 80 business executives, including Apple CEO Cook, JPMorgan Chase CEO Damon, and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. Trump said that if he is re elected, he will lower the corporate tax rate from 21% in his first term to 20%. According to attendees, Trump stated that if he returns to the White House, he will cut taxes, including income tax, and restore the economic policies he set during his first term.
According to Reuters, on Friday, at his 78th birthday party, Trump promised to further reduce taxes if he wins the November US election. At a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida, the Republican candidate delivered a speech to thousands of supporters, vowing to further reduce the corporate tax rates he lowered during his presidency while providing tax breaks for the middle class.
Announcement of the rules for the first television debate
The US presidential election is scheduled for early November. Last month, Democratic Party President Biden gave a farewell letter to his Republican predecessor Trump, proposing to abandon decades of autumn debate tradition and hold two offline debates ahead of schedule. The latter took over. The two debates were hosted by CNN and ABC on June 27th and September 10th, respectively.
The first debate on June 27th will be the first time in nearly four years that Biden and Trump have met in the same setting.
On June 15th local time, CNN released the rules for the first presidential candidate debate in the United States. During the 90 minute debate, both candidates will stand in front of a unified podium, and the podium position will be determined by tossing a coin. The candidate will receive a pen, a piece of paper, and a bottle of water, and cannot use props. In addition, the microphone will remain silent at all times except when it is the candidate's turn to speak. The host will use all available tools to enforce timing and ensure civilized discussion.
CNN stated that during the debate, there were two ad breaks during which campaign staff were not allowed to interact with candidates and there were no viewers in the studio. According to a campaign memo obtained by Reuters, Biden had three themes in the first debate, including abortion rights, democratic conditions, and the economy. Trump's team pointed out that immigration, public safety, and inflation were key issues before the debate.