GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — President Donald Trump knows he has a problem with gas prices. On Monday night, he tried to do something about it.

With less than one month to go until Election Day, Trump traveled to Grand Island, Nebraska, to rally with incumbent GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts, who’s fending off an unexpectedly competitive challenge from independent Dan Osborn.

His visit took place as Nebraskans grapple with high fuel costs: The average price of gas was $4.21 per gallon in the Cornhusker State on Monday, according to AAA, while diesel averaged $5.99 per gallon, squeezing farmers who rely on the fuel to power their machinery.

At the rally Monday night, it was clear the GOP’s problem at the pump was top of mind for Trump.

In the middle of his remarks, Trump signed an executive order in the middle of the rally waiving the off-road requirement for tax-free red-dyed diesel, a move he said would save Nebraskans money. Trump aide Natalie Harp brought the executive order on stage for the president to sign.

“So, Pete and Jim, this should absolutely assure your election, I guarantee you,” Trump said as he prepared to sign the document, referring to Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen, who’s running for another term.

The president also mentioned gas prices minutes into his speech, defending the war in Iran — even though it has driven up fuel costs — and insisting that the conflict would end soon and bring prices down.

“That will end very quickly, one way or the other, very soon, maybe a little after the election, maybe a little before, but it’s going to end very soon,” Trump said. “When that happens, the oil will come tumbling down.”

He also recalled seeing gas stations advertising gas for $1.95 and $1.85 a gallon while driving through Iowa, and promised Nebraskans lower prices in the near future.

“We’ll have it lower than that in a very short period of time,” Trump said.

The last time U.S. gas prices were that low was during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and, before that, in February 2016.

Trump’s visit to Nebraska was his latest stop on a swing through traditionally red states as he tries to boost struggling Republican candidates in competitive Senate races — seats the party needs to defend to maintain its majority in the upper chamber.

Last week, Trump traveled to Texas to appear with Ken Paxton, who’s in a tough battle against Democrat James Talarico, and stopped in Ohio to rally with Sen. John Husted, who’s fending off a comeback bid by former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. 

The president’s Nebraska visit comes as recent polls have shown Ricketts, the former governor, within a few percentage points of Osborn, who is backed by Democrats. While Trump won Nebraska by 20 percentage points in 2024, Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., beat Osborn by just under seven percentage points that same year. The Cornhusker State last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2006.

High fuel costs have emerged as one of the defining factors in the race. But whether Trump’s rescue mission will help Ricketts will be up to voters.

While Trump insisted Monday night that costs are on the decline — “all your prices have been tumbling down,” he declared — voters at the rally described a different economic reality.

Wendy Munsen, 50, a Nebraska resident whose husband is a farmer, said gas prices are “bad” and “very high.” She said she wants that to change.

“The cost to put the diesel in the trucks to haul the corn, I mean, it’s really putting a burden on them,” she told MS NOW.

Munsen, who was wearing a sequin MAGA jacket and declared, “I love Donald Trump,” said she wants the president to do more to address high costs. Asked what her message to Trump would be, she responded: “Bring us back to affordable living.”

“We’re Nebraskans, we need affordable living back. The economy really needs to change,” she said.

She said Trump bears some responsibility for the competitive Senate race.

“I feel like it’s a little backlash from Trump and the Republican Party,” Munsen said, pointing to high gas prices, which have risen amid the war in Iran. “It’s the domino effect because of what Trump’s doing in office, it’s kind of trickling down so they’re losing faith in the Republican Party.”

Katrina Rainford, 55, of Doniphan, Nebraska, said diesel prices right now are “pretty crazy.” Rainford works in agriculture, and her husband is a farmer.

“And all the farmers know that too,” she said. “It’s gonna be a big issue this fall, for sure, for a lot of people. And so hopefully things will just start turning around.”

“I wish he’d do more,” Antonio Silver, a 68-year-old Grand Island resident who previously worked at a post office, said of Trump and high gas prices.

Beyond the elevated fuel costs, Nebraskans are also contending with Trump’s decision to temporarily suspend tariffs on beef imports, a move that has roiled cattle ranchers across the state. Ricketts was among those who pushed back on the decision when it was announced.

Even some of Trump’s supporters at Monday’s rally took issue.

“I disagree with that,” Val Herber, a 69-year-old retired nurse from Nebraska, told MS NOW as she waited in line at the rally. 

“I think he needs to reconsider that. We need to support our American farmers, our Nebraska farmers and ranchers,” she said. “He needs to focus on American beef.”

Amid the headwinds, Trump is running a full-court press to keep Nebraska’s Senate seat red — a key part of his push to maintain the party’s majority for his final two years in office.

With that in mind, he turned to a familiar message to galvanize his most enthusiastic supporters: Vote as if he’s on the ballot.

“Just remember, I’m running,” Trump said with a chuckle. “Even if you have to pretend, say Trump, because in a true way I am running. We have to keep it going.”

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From MS Now.