Donald Trump in Iowa declares himself 'the most pro-farmer president in history'

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Just south of here four years ago, Donald Trump said his administration was "turning it all around" for farmers, as they struggled with declining prices and international trade wars.

"Wait until it all comes together," Trump said in June 2019.

He returned Friday, with a White House term behind him and what he sees as a clear path through Iowa's 2024 caucuses. Aiming to rally Iowa's agricultural sector to his side, he touted his accomplishments in a speech while continuing to describe his top Republican rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as lacking in both promises and action on ethanol.

"No president has ever been close to me for farmers," Trump said, declaring himself "the most pro-farmer president in history" to a crowd of hundreds that included both Iowans and Nebraskans. A DeSantis administration, he argued, would be "catastrophic for Iowa's economy."

"Every Iowan also needs to know that Ron DeSanctus totally despises Iowa ethanol and ethanol in general," Trump said, adding that when politicians "have their initial thoughts … that's what they go back to."

At one mention of the Florida governor, the crowd booed.

A spokesperson for DeSantis said in a statement that Trump's remarks were "further evidence of his eroding support in Iowa," saying the former president was "distorting the governor's record."

"As president, Ron DeSantis will be a champion for farmers and use every tool available to open new markets," said Bryan Griffin, press secretary for the DeSantis campaign. "He has proven himself to be the fighter America needs to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party to protect U.S. interests, farmers and workers."

Trump has been outwardly confident about his support in Iowa, declaring in June that "there's no way we lose." Core to that support, he's said, are farmers — frequently touting his reworked North American trade deal, as well as tariffs his administration put in place on China that directed $28 billion to the U.S. agricultural sector.

"A lot of people in this room got checks of hundreds and thousands of dollars because China was taking tremendous advantage of the farmers for a long time," Trump said at a campaign stop in Urbandale last month.

In his remarks Friday, he pledged to pursue new, aggressive trade wars if necessary.

"If India or China or any one of many countries hits us with a 100% or 200% tariff or tax, we will hit them with exactly the same tariff or tax," Trump said, part of a proposal he called the "Trump Reciprocal Trade Act."

The former president, in his third visit to Iowa since announcing his 2024 run, remains the undisputed GOP frontrunner — both in the first-in-the-nation caucus state and nationally — as the summer campaign season continues.

Supporters gathered outside the arena hours before doors opened, getting drenched beneath umbrellas and ponchos as they waited to see the former president. Once inside, some received green hats emblazoned with "Farmers for Trump," which a label said were manufactured in Bangladesh. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the hats.

The campaign used the event to launch its "Farmers for Trump" coalition, appointing state legislators and leaders as co-chairs of the group in Iowa — including Reps. Mike Sexton, Heather Hora and Derek Wulf. That theme resonated with some attendees who had ties to agriculture.

"They can trust (Trump) to get the work done that needs to be done," said Rhonda White, a Henderson resident who works at the soybean plant in Council Bluffs. "To protect the farmers, protect the land, protect the income. Absolutely."

When are candidates visiting Iowa? See who's coming and where they're going with the Register's tracker

Trump again courts Iowa farm and fuel leaders, the latest development in a 'feast or famine' dynamic

Trump's relationship with farming and renewable fuel groups in Iowa, though often touted in his speeches, has not always been mutually agreeable.

The Environmental Protection Agency under his administration gave the green light to sell E15, gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, year-round in a key victory for leaders in Iowa. But Trump's EPA also allowed a number of oil refineries to opt out of blending ethanol and biodiesel into their fuel — driving down demand and eventually leading to the closure of 15 ethanol plants, including one in Iowa.

The reaction, in an industry leader's words, was "Iowa pissed." The former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association called it "a slap in the face," and one ethanol plant CEO said a vote for Trump in 2020 would be "voting to cut off their own economic prosperity."

"It was a feast or famine type of deal," said Kelly Nieuwenhuis, a northwest Iowa farmer who serves as chair of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. "There were a lot of (waivers) granted, and that was not a good thing for the biofuels industry."

Administrators at Trump's EPA, Nieuwenhuis said, "were not supportive of biofuels."

The agency under President Joe Biden has been similarly hit-or-miss for a number of Iowa farm leaders. Michael Regan, the current head of the EPA, "seems to be a pretty decent guy," Niewenhuis said, but he argued the ethanol and biofuels industry "still deals with some of the unfair playing field."

The administration has allowed E15 to be sold during the summer months, and starting next year it can be sold year-round in the Midwest.

But industry leaders expressed frustration last year as gas prices spiked, urging Biden to lean more heavily into biofuels. And a new rule lowering how much ethanol should be blended into gasoline was called "a step backward" and criticized as not doing enough to advance renewable fuels.

As Trump and a cadre of Republican challengers visit Iowa, they'll continue to court the state's key energy industry — as its leaders lobby officials to certify higher ethanol blends and further support biofuels. Niewenhuis says those leaders are ready to hear from everyone.

"I think they're looking for something new and different," he said. "The past is always part of it, but I think people are looking forward instead of to the past. So we're mainly wanting to know from candidates, how they stand now."

Never Back Down, the super PAC backing DeSantis, provided the Des Moines Register with statements from two Iowa lawmakers past and present who were involved in farming and fuels and are supporting the governor in 2024.

Rep. David Sieck, a former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, said he was "tired of the smoke & mirrors routine that is given to Iowa farmers" and called DeSantis "an honest and trusted friend of Iowa farmers." And Former Rep. Ross Paustain argued that "promise after promise never materialized" under the Trump administration.

What Ron DeSantis has said about energy, ethanol subsidies

DeSantis — who is polling well behind Trump but remains the second-strongest candidate in the field — has focused far less on the issues of ethanol, energy and agriculture while in Iowa than the former president, instead emphasizing his record in Florida and the top issues of his platform.

In a May interview with the Register, DeSantis said biofuels would be part of his campaign's plans for the U.S. to be "energy independent," eliminating reliance on international sources. And he criticized the Biden's administration's push for electric vehicles, arguing that it would make the country "more dependent on China."

But he demurred on whether he would be in favor of subsidies for the ethanol industry; while in Congress, he supported removing the key Renewable Fuel Standard for biofuels blending.

"I think basically, I just came to the understanding that, look, from a market perspective there's a lot of problems with some of those programs," DeSantis said. "But at the same time, like a lot of these farmers are caught up in this. They just need certainty and they need kind of things to do."

Donnelle Eller, Brianne Pfannenstiel and Katie Akin contributed reporting.

Galen Bacharier covers politics and the Trump campaign in Iowa for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Donald Trump touts ethanol accomplishments in Iowa, bashes Ron DeSantis