The White House on Monday said President Joe Biden does not regret endorsing an electric truck that is damaging the Amazon rain forest.
Biden, a self-described "car guy," test-drove a Ford F-150 Lightning in May 2021 as part of a wider push to promote electric vehicles. But a recent Bloomberg investigation found that the truck is built from metal that's damaging the rainforest in Brazil.
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"Does President Biden regret endorsing that truck back in 2021?" the Washington Examiner's Christian Datoc asked during Monday's press briefing. "And has anyone talked to Ford about how they should source aluminum for the [truck] frame from a different mine?"
The president has no regrets, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
"No, do not regret that," she said. "And I don't have any conversation [with Ford] to read out at this time."
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Biden test-drove the truck at a manufacturing facility in Dearborn, Michigan, saying, "This sucker's quick." He has heavily promoted domestic manufacturing and electric vehicles while in office, and 2022's Inflation Reduction Act included a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of new electric and hybrid vehicles.
But the electric F-150 has come under fire after it was discovered that aluminum used to make the truck is contributing to pollution in the Amazon River. A refinery used to make metal for the truck stands accused of sickening thousands of people.