During a visit to the Ford electric vehicle plant in Dearborn, Mich., Biden had the opportunity to test-drive the company’s new F-150 Lightning pickup truck. While Biden was in the process of test-driving a Ford electric vehicle, a reporter at the scene asked the president if he could ask something about the situation in the Gaza Strip.
“Mr. President, can I ask you a quick question about Israel before you drive away, since it is very important?” a reporter asked.
“No, you can’t — not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it. I’m only teasing,” Biden said, with laughter heard in the background. The president then floored the vehicle and drove away, to the apparent delight of the reporters nearby.
President Biden test drives Ford’s new electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck pic.twitter.com/A3jrsIi5mR
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) May 18, 2021
The joke sparked comments on social media, with some claiming former President Trump would have been treated differently by the media if he had made the same comment.
Biden had just delivered a speech at a Ford factory to push for the transformation of electric vehicles through passage of his American Jobs Plan. The $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan would pump $174 billion into electric vehicles.
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Calling electric vehicles “the future of the auto industry,” Biden said the investments are needed to catch up to China in production and sales.
Biden has faced an onslaught of criticism from fellow Democrats in Congress over his approach to recent violence in the Middle East. Israel has pummeled Gaza with airstrikes as Hamas fires thousands of rockets in its direction.
Lawmakers critical of Biden’s Israel policy have urged the president to show more concern for Palestinian rights. At least 213 Palestinians and 12 people in Israel had died in the fighting as of Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.