Donald Trump promised the price of oil will come down ‘very soon’ at a rally in Mississippi on Monday while boasting about how he made America the ‘hottest country in the world.’
Trump was supporting Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s re-election campaign when he admitted he thought the price of oil to go ‘much, much higher’ because of the war in the Middle East.
He then told Americans they can expect it to get cheaper, claiming gas prices in Iowa had already gone down to ‘$1.85 and $1.95’ per gallon.
The president further said that the US is back to being ‘the hottest country in the world’ while calling a temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran a ‘waste of time.’
‘Two years ago, we were laughed at all over the world,’ he said. ‘They didn’t respect us, they didn’t respect our leadership.’
‘And now, every single leader in the world considers us to be the strongest, the hottest country.’
Speaking in one of the poorest states in the nation, he told Mississippians that their income is ‘the highest it’s ever been’ as the ‘poverty rate has just reached its best and lowest level’ in history.
‘If you have any doubt, before you go vote, pick up your 401(k) and check it out. You’ve made more money than you’ve ever made in your life.’
It was Trump’s first visit to the Magnolia State in seven years. ‘I’m here because Cindy’s doing great, but I just got to make sure,’ he told the crowd. ‘I can’t take a chance.’
Speaking in Mississippi, Trump promised voters that the prices of oil and gas will go down ‘very soon’
Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith has to fight an unexpectedly close race for the Magnolia State’s Senate seat. She only appeared on stage for less than a minute during the Monday night event
The Cook Political Report still rates Mississippi as Republican-leaning. But Democratic hopeful Scott Colon has narrowed the incumbent’s lead to single digits in recent polls
Appearing on stage for nine words only, Hyde-Smith asked: ‘Is this not the best president in our lifetime?’
Earlier in Trump’s speech, that was interrupted by a lone heckler, he restated his request to voters to ‘pretend I’m on the ballot’ as he visited the site just below the border to Tennessee.
‘We want to win in a landslide. Make it too big to rig,’ he said.
He also fired back at Barack Obama, who said Trump made the White House look like ‘Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory’ over the weekend.
‘He said: “This isn’t a Cheesecake Factory.” Can you believe it? Which is a very successful company, by the way. He doesn’t like successful companies,’ the president argued.
Mississippi has not had a Democratic senator in over four decades but Democrats have grown optimistic about an upset this year as Hyde-Smith has been caught off guard.
The president carried the state by 23 points in 2024 and Hyde-Smith won her last race by seven points.
But conservatives now fear the ‘blue wave’ hitting historically deep-red states like Alaska, Kansas and Texas is crashing in other places too.
The Cook Political Report recently shifted its ranking of the Senate race from ‘solid Republican’ to ‘likely Republican.’
Democratic challenger Scott Colom posted on social media that he was at the rally as well to speak to voters outside.
‘Walking the line outside the Trump rally in Corinth, I was reminded that more unites us than divides us here in Mississippi,’ Colom said.
‘I heard from folks who want to get foreign money out of our elections, put and end to flock cameras, keep our borders safe and make sure veterans are taken care of.’
The Democrat recently went viral for an ad mocking a tone-deaf comment made by Hyde-Smith about surging beef prices.
Trump’s midterm rally to boost Republican votes was once again interrupted by a heckler
Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the country
While Hyde-Smith is facing a tougher-than-expected race against Colom, the Cook Political Report still ranks the Senate race as ‘likely Republican’
Geoff Pender, politics editor at the non-profit newsroom Mississippi Today, told the Daily Mail that he is surprised by how tight the battle has become.
‘This was not expected to be a race,’ he said. ‘Hyde-Smith early on probably took it for granted.’
The Democrat, on the other side, sought to get high-profile surrogates like Kamala Harris and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to boost votes.
He ‘put in the shoe leather’ and ‘worked hard,’ Pender said, but acknowledged that Colom ‘still faces an uphill battle’ he could only win if Democrats ‘supercharge and overperform on turnout.’
He added that he is ‘not sure’ whether Trump’s visit will actually help Hyde-Smith as the Republican seemed less excited about the president than before.
‘In past cycles she was begging him to come and endorse her. This was a little different. Her response when was: “Well, if he would like to, that would be fine.”
‘It was not: “Hoorah, he’s great, I’m so glad he is coming.” To me, that was telling.’
Trump’s approval rating has sunk to a historic low as the war with Iran and his tariffs drive up the cost of living for voters but he has repeatedly urged Republicans to treat the midterms as a referendum on his presidency.
The president will make two appearances in Texas on Tuesday, followed by rallies in Ohio on Wednesday, Florida on Friday and Iowa later in the campaign’s closing stretch.
