President Donald Trump rolled into Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday and signed an executive order extending the tax-free use of red-dyed diesel, promising the move will save farmers millions of dollars and push down the cost of goods for everyone, all with four weeks to go before the midterm elections.
“The typical trucker will save more than $100 every time they fill up,” Trump said, signing the order onstage in front of a packed crowd. He also took a moment to personally guarantee electoral success to two Nebraska governors standing nearby. “Pete and Jim, this should absolutely ensure your election, I guarantee you that,” he told GOP Gov. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen. Nothing like a little presidential warranty with your executive order.
Diesel prices have climbed in the aftermath of the Iran war, and rural voters are feeling it hard. Red-dyed diesel is the off-road variety used in agriculture, already exempt from federal and state excise taxes. The White House says temporarily removing limits on its broader use will ease cost pressures on businesses that depend on diesel. Simple enough, and farmers in the crowd seemed to appreciate it. Rally-goer Marlene Abel from Garfield, Kansas, summed up the mood nicely: “I have faith in him. More faith in him than I ever had in any other president.”
Not everyone was quite as enthusiastic about the order’s mechanics. Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy, a platform that tracks national fuel prices, pointed out last week that Trump’s red-dyed diesel rally order could save money for on-road users but not farmers, who already use red-dyed diesel. “Taxes aren’t the problem, supply is,” De Haan wrote on X. Fair point, though it didn’t exactly slow down the signing ceremony.
Nebraska voters also have some feelings about the administration’s plan to import foreign beef to bring down prices. Ranchers aren’t thrilled. Gov. Ricketts told the Associated Press plainly, “The plan to import low-quality foreign beef is not helping Nebraska ranchers. I would advise the White House to change that policy.” When your own party’s governor is giving you homework assignments, you know the issue has some bite to it.
Trump’s Nebraska stop is part of what he describes as a 32-day rally blitz ahead of November 3, having already hit Oklahoma and Alabama, with a second Texas stop in San Antonio coming Wednesday. Tentative plans also have him heading to Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Montana, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Nevada, and Arizona before Election Day. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance took his wife and their two youngest kids up to Fairbanks, Alaska, to stump for Sen. Dan Sullivan in what’s shaping up to be a tight race.
The midterm stakes couldn’t be much clearer. Trump is out there signing orders onstage, Vance is doing the family road-trip version of campaigning in Alaska, and Republicans are working hard to hold the line. Four weeks is a short runway, but if diesel prices drop and the farm vote holds, that runway might be just long enough.
