Former President Donald Trump on Monday pledged to abolish a Biden administration rule forcing coal-fired power plants to either eliminate carbon emissions or shutdown to boost energy production if he’s elected to the White House in November.
“I am announcing today that when I return to the White House, I will end this anti-American-energy crusade and terminate Kamala’s so-called Power Plant Rule,’” the 78-year-old former president said.
“Instead of shutting down power plants, we will open dozens and dozens more,” he vowed.
Trump, in remarks to about 400 supporters in York, Pa., explained that the controversial Environmental Protection Agency power plant rule perfectly illustrates the contrast between him and Vice President Kamala Harris: “Kamala stands for energy disappearance and factory obliteration. I stand for manufacturing dominance.”
“Kamala is on a regulatory jihad to shutdown power plants all across America,” Trump said, describing his 2024 opponent’s energy policies.
The EPA rule, which a federal appeals court ruled last month could be enforced, requires coal-fired power plants to shut down if they cannot capture 90% of their carbon emissions starting in 2032.
“At least 50 existing power plants have closed since [Harris] took office,” Trump charged. “They are closing everything. That’s why in California you have blackouts.”
The Republican nominee also committed to bringing “advanced, small modular nuclear reactors online” to meet America’s energy demands.
“Small nuclear, we call it,” Trump said, describing nuclear energy as “ultra safe” and “ultra clean.”
SpaceX owner Elon Musk discussed his passion for nuclear energy in an interview on X, during which Trump said the issue needed “rebranding.”
Trump, addressing factory workers at the Precision Custom Components manufacturing plant, also announced that he would invoke the Defense Production Act upon taking office to “very quickly ramp up capacity of essential products,” with the goal of having “100% American supply chains for all essential goods.”
The Trump administration previously invoked the Defense Production Act to boost COVID-19 medical supplies in the early days of the pandemic.
Reiterating remarks from February, Trump also said he “will stop Japan from buying United States steel.”
“You don’t want to sell US steel,” he said, suggesting that having more steel in the US would allow American manufacturers to build more products in the US.
He also said he would “revoke China’s most favored nation trade status” and implement a reciprocal trade measure that would force foreign countries to pay a steep tariff if they apply tariffs of their own on products.
“You hurt us, we hurt you. It’s an eye for an eye. It’s common sense,” the former president said.
Trump’s appearance in the Keystone State followed a Philadelphia campaign event earlier in the day featuring Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance.
Polls show Trump and Harris are locked in a tight race in the key battleground state, where 19 Electoral College votes are up for grabs in November.
