Former President Donald Trump warned voters in Iowa Friday that Republican presidential rival Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has been on the wrong side of the ethanol issue and cannot be trusted to protect the state’s all-important corn-fueled industry.
The issue of ethanol has become a quadrennial litmus test for candidates in Iowa, which leads the nation in ethanol production and is fiercely protective of federal policies promoting its use.
“I fought for Iowa ethanol like no president in history,” Mr. Trump said at a Farmers for Trump launch event in Council Bluffs, before drawing a contrast with Mr. DeSantis. “Ron DeSanctus,” he said, using the mocking name he came up with for his chief rival in the polls, “totally despises Iowa ethanol and ethanol generally.”
Mr. Trump wrapped his attack into a broader message that Mr. DeSantis is a “globalist sellout” with a track record of turning his back on farmers and the agricultural industry.
Mr. Trump highlighted Mr. DeSantis’ recent veto of tens of millions of dollars in funding for land conservation easements meant to help Florida farmers.
DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin said Mr. Trump’s attacks “are further evidence of his eroding support in Iowa” and the latest example of him distorting Mr. DeSantis’ record. “Iowans increasingly know that Governor DeSantis is the presidential candidate who shares their values.”
“As president, Ron DeSantis will be a champion for farmers and use every tool available to open new markets,” Mr. Griffin said. “He has proven himself to be the fighter America needs to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party to protect US interests, farmers, and workers.”
Mr. Trump said Mr. DeSantis, as a member of Congress, supported doing away with the standard that bolstered corn-based ethanol use by requiring fuel to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels.
Mr. DeSantis “slandered the ethanol mandate as socialism,” Mr. Trump said. “He called his vicious plan to eliminate the Iowa farming industry a total no-brainer. Now he is going to come … here and he will probably say, ‘I am actually quite in favor of ethanol, I think it is wonderful.’”
Mr. Trump said he followed through on his promise while president to bolster the retail sale of fuel containing 15% ethanol and expand the number of ethanol gas pumps.
The renewable fuel standard has been controversial, with opponents saying the mandate creates higher costs for consumers and that the 15% share of ethanol damages some engines.
In Iowa, however, attacking the mandate has been a third rail of politics.
Gov. Kim Reynolds last year signed a bill into law last year requiring most Iowa gas stations to offer the higher ethanol blend by 2026.
The pathway to the 2024 GOP presidential nomination starts in Iowa, where White House hopefuls have historically looked for a strong showing to springboard them into New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary and ensuing contests.
The difference this go-round for the sprawling field of contenders is they are running against Mr. Trump, a popular former president whose grip on the base of the party has been on display at his campaign events and in polls that show him with a big double-digit lead.
The Trump strike against Mr. DeSantis is the latest reminder of how the political alliance between the two Republicans has collapsed since Mr. Trump endorsed his gubernatorial bid in 2017.
On Friday, Mr. Trump said he saved Mr. DeSantis’s political career and said the Florida governor turned his back on him by deciding to run for president.
“Since then he became Ron DeSanctimonius to me,” Mr. Trump said. “He would be a total disaster. First off he has no personality — you probably found that out.”
“He would be a catastrophe for the farmers of Nebraska and Iowa and every place else,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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