Jen Psaki shot down Fox News’ Peter Doocy after he tried to goad her about Joe Biden not owning an electric car.
The White House press secretary pushed back on Doocy’s line of questioning and told him, “Presidents of the United States don’t do a lot of driving.”
Doocy then followed up by reminding Ms Psaki that the president “has posted videos of him revving the engine of his corvette in Wilmington, he owns cars.”
Last year during a trip to Michigan to test-drive Ford’s new F-150 lighting electric truck, Mr Biden told the crowd, “I’m a car guy.”
The president is the son of a car dealer and the owner of a 1967 green Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
Ms Psaki refused to be drawn, and told Doocy, “And he has also driven electric vehicles as president, to give a model to the rest of the country.”
Doocy then repeated his question, asking if Mr Biden owned an electric car.
“The president’s record on this is clear Peter, presidents of the United States, current and when they are no longer, typically are not doing a lot of driving.”
Mr Biden talked about his love of his Corvette in an August 2020 campaign video.
“The Secret Service won’t let me drive it. I’m not allowed to drive anything. It’s the one thing I hate about this job. I’m serious,” he said.
Mr Biden has had an ongoing feud with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who the president has repeatedly snubbed while promoting electric cars from legacy automakers.
Mr Musk told CNBC that “Biden has pointedly ignored Tesla” and has yet to be invited to the White House with other corporate leaders.
Aides to Mr Biden have said that he has not been impressed with Mr Musk’s anti-union views.
