President Joe Biden personally drove the new electric F-150 Lightning on Tuesday during a visit to a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
“We let him drive himself,” a Ford executive told reporters as the president drove by reporters on a testing track.
The president accelerated quickly and pulled up to reporters and rolled down the window of the pickup to talk to them.
“This sucker’s quick,” he said.
When asked how it felt to get behind the wheel again, Biden replied, “It feels great.”
Biden said the pickup would do 0-60 in about 4.4 seconds.
When asked if he would ever buy an electric F-150, Biden replied, “Yes. I would.”
The new all-electric F-150 pickup is estimated to start at $70,000 with fully loaded packages costing as much as $100,000.
The pickup had several taped-up sections to help preserve the styling and design details for the official product launch. The full details of the pickup will be released Tuesday.
Biden advised reporters to get out of the way before he punched down the accelerator.
“I’m just going to step on it and I’ll come off at 80 mph,” Biden said.
When a reporter asked him if he could ask a question about Israel, Biden replied, “No you can’t. Not unless you get in front of the car when I step on it.”
Biden punched the accelerator down as the pickup sped off at a high rate of speed on the test track.
Secret Service typically prevents presidents from driving themselves, unless it is in a controlled setting.
That usually inspires some bipartisan frustration from presidents, especially while touring car manufacturing plants or looking at new vehicles.
“I like to drive. I can’t drive anymore,” former President Donald Trump mused during a 2017 interview with Reuters.
In 2010, former President Obama drove a Chevy Volt for about 10 feet during a visit to a General Motors plant to promote electric vehicles, despite some protest from the Secret Service.
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