Despite his public tirades against electric vehicles (EVs), Donald Trump appears to quietly embrace them in his business ventures. According to a report by E&E News from Politico, Trump has not only welcomed EV drivers to his hotel properties but has also installed charging stations at several of his resorts and residential buildings.
The Trump golf resort in Doral, Florida, for example, has had three parking spots dedicated to electric cars since 2016. Charging stations have also been “quietly” added at Trump hotels in Las Vegas and Chicago, as well as at three of his condo buildings in Florida and New York. This information comes from publicly available data from the Department of Energy and an EV plugin app.
This revelation comes at a time when Trump has made his opposition to electric vehicles a prominent feature of his speeches, often criticizing the Biden administration for allegedly forcing Americans to buy EVs. During his address at the Republican National Convention in July, Trump declared, “I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” claiming that doing so would “save the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration” and save consumers “thousands and thousands of dollars per car.”
Trump’s stance against EVs puts him at odds with some of his allies, notably Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and a prominent supporter of the former president. Despite this, Trump has softened his rhetoric on occasion. “I have no objection to the electric vehicle — the EV. I think it’s great,” Trump told Bloomberg reporters in June, though he added, “They’re very, very expensive. They’re also heavy.”
The Sierra Club’s director of clean transit, Katherine Garcia, pointed out the contradiction between Trump’s public stance and his business practices. She noted that Trump’s installation of EV charging stations highlights “a stark discrepancy between Trump’s priorities in having EV infrastructure and his connections to oil and gas.”
As Trump continues to rally against EVs on the campaign trail, the presence of charging stations at his properties underscores a complex relationship with the technology—one that contrasts sharply with his political messaging.