Hailing his delivering on promises and fighting for farmers, former President Donald Trump delivered a speech Monday night to Davenport, Iowa, as he campaigns for the 2024 GOP presidential primary nomination.
"How could a farmer vote against me?" Trump said in a Davenport, Iowa, speech Monday night, calling Iowa ethanol and energy a "national security priority."
"I did things that nobody thought was possible. We made the farming business great. I made it great again, if you think about it.
"I made those promises to the people of Iowa and America, and I kept every single one of my promises," Trump, who called himself the "most pro-farmer president in history," added.
Trump hit at President Joe Biden's economy and turning America away from its farming industry under a Green New Deal agenda pushed by "anti-energy extremists" of the progressive left.
"Under Joe Biden, it has been a non-stop war on American agriculture — you know that," Trump said, noting his China trade deal delivered $28 billion for U.S. farmers. "Biden reimposed the Waters of the United States rule. He reimposed it on the first day in office. He is trying to raise taxes on farms, reinstate the death tax, and fertilizer prices are up almost 300%. Net farm income is projected to fall by 16% this year alone.
"With the insane Green New Deal, Joe Biden is trying to totally kill Iowa ethanol. By contrast, I fought for Iowa ethanol like no president in history."
Trump hailed his energy independence that has been unwound by his successor, leading to inflation: "What caused inflation? The oil, energy."
"I issued a rule declaring that E15 would be made available all year round — all year round," Trump said. "I also dramatically increased the number of fueling stations where E15 could be sold across the country. And, very importantly, I let them use the original pumps and equipment instead of having to buy new, because it was equal to and in some cases better.
"Every promise I made to Iowa as a candidate, I fulfilled as your president — nobody's ever done this," Trump added. "I promised to defend ethanol — and sometimes we really had to come to the wall on that one and I did."
Trump also hailed his moving of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and taking an estimated $2 billion project and got it done for $500 million, despite warnings the move would lead to "bloodshed all over the Middle East" that Trump said never came.
"I promised to move the Embassy to Jerusalem and get it built — and I got it built for a fraction of the cost and in a fraction of the time," he said.
Trump repeated his promise of appointing three true conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court and trade deals with Mexico, Canada, and China.
"Within hours of my inauguration, I will cancel every Biden policy that is brutalizing our farmers — every single one," Trump said to a loud ovation that broke into a chant of "USA! USA! USA!" "I'll appoint a special team to attack the high price of fertilizer — we'll get that taken care of.
"We won't just increase ethanol production in our country, but we'll export ethanol all over the world. And just as I did for four straight years, I will protect Iowa ethanol and I will go after anyone who wishes to destroy it."
Trump took a shot at his potential 2024 GOP presidential primary rival, saying Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis "strongly opposed ethanol."
"He's going to do that again," Trump warned, saying Ron "DeSanctus" — a play on the "Ron DeSanctimonious" moniker — "reminds me a lot of Mitt Romney."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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