Kentucky Democratic governor pushes back against Trump-led attacks on electric vehicles

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Electric vehicles have built up enough momentum from job growth and investments to steer past any roadblocks from Donald Trump and other critics, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.

The Democratic governor said the thousands of EV-related jobs springing up across the country, including in rural GOP strongholds, should be enough to overcome the political backlash against the technology.

“Jobs are so much more important than the political rhetoric that’s out there day in and day out,” Beshear said during a sit-down interview with The Associated Press.

In the Bluegrass State, the emerging EV sector has been a big contributor to the state’s record pace of economic growth. Since mid-2020, EV-related companies have announced nearly $12 billion in investments and are expected to produce more than 10,200 full-time jobs. That includes the state’s largest-ever economic development project under construction, which will produce batteries to power future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles.

The governor dismissed the barrage of anti-EV attacks from former Republican President Trump and others as “just another attempt to divide people.”

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