Future Of U.S. Auto Industry 'Is Electric,' Biden Says In MI Stop

DEARBORN, MI — President Joe Biden visited the Ford Motor Co. Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn on Tuesday, a day ahead of when the company is set to release its all-new electric F-150 truck, and declared that "the future of the auto industry is electric."

"There's no turning back," Biden said shortly after touring Ford's new facility, which will manufacture its new electric truck, called "Lightning."

"The American auto industry is at a crossroad," Biden said. "The real question is whether it will lead or fall behind in the race of the future."

The trip was Biden's second visit to Michigan since taking office in January. He visited Portage, Michigan, in February, where he toured the Pfizer plant and vowed that the nation would "beat" the coronavirus.

The president began the day by landing in Detroit before getting a tour of Ford's electric vehicle center. He met with company executives, briefly visited with state and local political figures, and then followed Ford officials and UAW President Rory Gamble in addressing a crowd at the center.

Biden made jokes about driving Ford's electric F-150 truck on a track — with approval from the Secret Service, of course, but became increasingly earnest when discussing the state of the U.S. auto industry.

"It's the United States of America, for God's sake," Biden said. "We're going to put Americans to work modernizing our roads, our highways our ports, our airports, rails and transit system."

The future of electric vehicles in the U.S., and the nation's role in moving the new direction of the auto industry forward, dominated Biden's speech Tuesday. The president compared the U.S. to China in how each country has been adapting to electric vehicles and stressed investing more into research and development.

China, Biden said, is "leading this race," something he said cannot be sustained.

"I got news for them, they will not win this race," Biden continued. "We can't let them. We have to move fast."

The U.S. auto leaders have switched gears in recent years toward electric vehicles, with General Motors and Ford recently announcing innovative, new electric vehicles. Ford is unveiling the all-electric F-150 Lightning on Wednesday at its Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn.

Congress is beginning to discuss Biden's $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure package, a proposal that includes $174 billion that would go toward growing the manufacturing of electric vehicles in the United States. Biden called the bill a good start and noted how part of it included the installation of 50,000 vehicle charging stations along roads and highways.

"American is back in the competition for the 21st century, the future will be built right here in America. Look at this plan, we're moving we're working again we're dreaming again we're discovering again, we're leading the world again. We've shown each other in the world that there's no point in America, there's simply no point in America."

Biden Met with Protests

As Biden visited Dearborn on Tuesday, protests mounted regarding his stance on issues in the Middle East. Dearborn, which is estimated to be more than 90 percent Arab American Muslim, has many Palestinian supporters.

Biden has said he supported Israel's right to defend itself before calling for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestine crisis, which has claimed the lives of at least 200 Palestinians, including 61 children and 36 women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Biden didn't discuss the crisis in length Tuesday, only telling Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib he would pray for her grandmother and other family members in the Middle East.

Protests were held in three locations in Dearborn on Tuesday, days after thousands protests the crisis in city streets. Three miles from where Biden gave his speech, hundreds of people chanted, “Free, Free Palestine!” and waved Palestine flags, The Associated Press reported.

Amer Zahr, leader of a group called New Generation for Palestine, told the Associated Press that the president is “not welcome in Dearborn today.”

“He is funding the murder of our families," Zahr told the outlet. "It’s ethnic cleansing. It’s that simple. This is not very complicated."