‘Green’ military vehicles are far less capable than conventional hardware, the former US president has said
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally on September 08, 2023 in Rapid City, South Dakota. © Scott Olson / Getty Images / AFP
Former US President Donald Trump has ridiculed incumbent Joe Biden over his administration’s push to make US military vehicles produce less carbon emissions as they storm enemy positions, despite America’s abundant oil resources.
Speaking at a Republican rally in South Dakota as part of his presidential campaign on Friday, Trump deplored that under the Biden administration the US had become “a nation that wants to make our great army tanks all electric.”
“So that despite the fact that they will not be able to go very far either, fewer pollutants will be released into the air as we blast our way through enemy territory,” the ex-president said.
As part of its push to reduce its carbon footprint, the US also wants to make its jet fighters ‘greener’, which would result in them losing 15% efficiency, but allow Washington “to keep our enemy’s atmosphere clean of pollutants,” Trump stated.
According to the 45th president, the US wants to rely on electric cars even though “they can’t go far, cost too much” and use batteries made in China.
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He also complained that with Biden at the helm, the US has had to beg Venezuela and other nations for oil despite having ample deposits of its own crude, arguing that the Biden-backed “fake” Green New Deal would lead to the country’s collapse.
In April of last year, Biden celebrated Earth Day by vowing to cut emissions from military equipment, including tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets. “I’m going to start the process where every vehicle in the United States military — every vehicle is going to be climate-friendly… We’re spending billions of dollars to do it,” he said at the time. In the same speech, he also admitted to owning a ’68 Corvette “that does nothing but pollute air,” adding that he does not drive it very much.
As part of this effort, last year the US army unveiled a plan to field an all-electric light-duty non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2027, with all tactical vehicles expected to become environmentally friendly by 2050. However, for now US officials say that the focus is on introducing hybrids rather than all-electric units, citing technology issues and a lack of conceptual understanding of how such equipment should be deployed.
