(Picture credit CBS 13)
GRAND ISLAND — President Donald Trump was well-received in Grand Island Monday evening for a brief Nebraska visit to rally support for down-ticket Republicans. Trump’s appearance in Nebraska’s 3rd District follows recent visits to Iowa, Texas, and Oklahoma, as the President stumps for Republican allies in what, by all indications, is a tough midterm season for the GOP.
Nonetheless, the prospect of Air Force One touching down in central Nebraska was enough to turn the rally into an all-day event for the thousands gathered at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds. By noon, the entry line had already stretched from the front doors of the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center to the fairgrounds’ southern entrance.
Estimates ranged from slightly over 3,000 supporters to around 5,000. At the time of Trump’s appearance, there was standing room only within the building and a healthy number of supporters outside, with event staff scrambling to accommodate the better-than-expected turnout. Trump’s appearance also drew quite a few demonstrators to the nearby sidewalks.
Nebraska Candidates Stump Pre-Trump
The evening’s festivities kicked off shortly after 4:30 pm, with State Senator Tanya Storer delivering an invocation and fellow State Senator Bob Andersen leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
Angela Eberspacher, a Republican candidate to succeed Kirk Penner on the State Board of Education, asked the crowd to join her in singing the National Anthem. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers then took the stage to deliver the first speech, where he recapped his office’s wins in multiple suits against Biden-era policies.
Hilgers set a theme the following Nebraska speakers would heartily pick up: fighting for the next generation. Hilgers cited his desire to preserve freedom and opportunity for his young daughter as a reason he joined the political fray.
More people continued to enter as Congressman Adrian Smith took the stage for a few short remarks – while his district played host to the event, he appears to be far safer in his re-election bid than NE-01 incumbent Mike Flood and NE-02 newcomer Brinker Harding.
Smith praised the tax cuts of the One Big Beautiful Bill as a help to young people trying to get ahead, as well as the upstart Trump Accounts for 2026 babies. He then introduced Governor Jim Pillen, who spoke for about 25 minutes.
Pillen’s first large applause line came as he praised Nebraskans for being a people about faith, family, and hard work:
“And we’re okay to talk about God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
He drew similar applause as he implored Nebraskans to “take time to brag” about the state’s strength, specifically its families, its mothers, and its stance on “boys are boys and girls are girls.”
Pillen also urged Republicans to stay on the team amidst economic concerns, pointing out that in spite of the state’s present budgetary shortfall, Nebraska has been AAA credit rated the past two years, for the first time in its history.
His most cheered line, however, came when he took aim at his chief opponent, Democratic nominee Lynne Walz.
“America does not need another Governor Walz,” he said.
During his speech, Pillen officially declared President Trump an Admiral of Nebraska, a power technically his as commander in chief of Nebraska’s Navy, Trump becoming one of many presidents to receive the honor.
U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts followed Pillen, and stuck to major points he’s made on the campaign trail, including his oft-repeated opening line:
“Folks, the D.C. Democrats have lost their minds.”
He decried Senate Democrats’ consistent nays on Voter I.D., the House’s Farm Bill, Customs and Border Patrol Funding, and the National Defense Authorization Act. He then turned to castigating his opponent, Independent Dan Osborn, as a dishonest candidate – pointing to Osborn’s large coastal donors and the frequent audio leaks in which he appears to contradict his public positions.
“They want a Senator from New York and California, and they know they can buy Dan Osborn.”
Ricketts closed with another one of his common lines, imploring Republicans to vote 10 times.
“Not the Democrat way 10 times,” he said. “You all make the commitment to get 9 other people.”
Trump Late, Trump Long
Air Force One touched down in Grand Island at approximately 5:50pm, a few minutes after Ricketts had ended his speech. It wasn’t until nearly 6:30pm that President Trump stepped out from behind the curtain to his customary tune of “God Bless the U.S.A.”
While he was late to the stage, the crowd received what they’d waited for, as the President proceeded to speak in his typical episodic style for 90 minutes, welcoming a great deal of people to join him at the podium.
“I love Nebraska,” he said when the applause had first died down. “I like you, and you like me, and that’s how it is.”
He opened by praising the Nebraska delegation and their effectiveness at securing federal dollars for the state, including an awkwardly received joke about flooding in Nebraska, with Omaha and Lincoln having seen flash flooding the previous week.
Trump was also the first person to mention two problem words for GOP candidates entering the midterms – “Iran” and “affordability” – two subjects he tackled relatively early on.
“By the way, we’re kicking Iran’s ass, you do know that right?” he said, praising the Naval blockade and the recent resurgence of oil leaving the Strait of Hormuz.
“We knocked out their navy, we knocked out their air force, we knocked out their leadership… we knocked out their radar, we knocked out their anti-aircraft,” he said. “It’s gonna end very soon.”
He mentioned the Administration’s successful apprehension of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and subsequent oil deal with his successor. Trump also stood by his frustration with the term “affordability.”
“I’m in office [for] one day, and one of the fake news people looks at me – he’s standing right back there… looked me in the eyes and said ‘affordability.’ I said, ‘what do you mean by that?’ And he said ‘Sir, affordability.’”
“And they try to pin it on me… that’s the first time I ever heard the word.”
Trump pointed to eggs as a Biden-era “affordability” problem that he feels he was dishonestly criticized for. He lamented that some Republicans have attempted to split the baby on the term rather than confront it.
He also stuck by his most controversial proposal of recent weeks: the “Trump Dividend” promise of $5,000 to every American adult if the GOP wins the House and Senate. The audience received the news without a hint of disapproval.
“If the Republicans win, you will each have $5,000 in your pocket,” he said to massive cheers.
He progressed to highlighting the hallmarks of his administration, with each strength receiving its own digression, per his custom – no illegal immigration, low violent crime, low poverty, high employment, record exports and stocks, and TrumpRX.
Trump next took aim at Lynne Walz.
“Lynne Walz supported raising your property taxes by billions and billions of dollars, voted to give food stamps to drug dealers, and hates the second amendment… she’s a disaster, just like her uncle, or whatever the hell he is,” he said referring to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a distant cousin of Lynne Walz’s husband.
He invited Pillen back to the microphone to lead a rendition of the “U-S-A” chant. Trump then gave quick endorsement of Hilgers, Smith, and Flood, inviting the latter two up to praise the estate tax waiver for family farms.
He then spent a good deal of time on Dan Osborn.
“Right here in Nebraska, the Dumb-o-crats are running a radical left lunatic, he’s a lunatic named Dan Osborn,” he said. “Osborn wants to pack the Supreme Court with 23 judges, with radical justices all, and trample all over your second amendment… he supports giving your social security money to illegal aliens.”
Ricketts took the podium once again to stress the importance of immigration enforcement in light of the recent death of Omaha grandfather Christopher Szalkowski in a car accident allegedly caused by Jose Ortega-Romero, an illegal alien.
Jacqueline Medina was also present – she being a former Grand Island resident who had previously joined Trump for the State of the Union Address. Medina’s daughter, Lizabeth, had been murdered in her home by an illegal alien in 2023. She asked voters to remember her daughter’s name when voting.
Reactions to Rally
The two biggest moments of the night had to do with red dye diesel and an off-color comment about the Iran war. Trump signed an executive order live which waived the off-road vehicle requirement to purchase red dye diesel fuel, the tax-free type of diesel generally used only for farm equipment and other large machines.
The prospect of on-road red dye diesel raised questions as to what penalties drivers might face upon inspection once the waiver expires – a notable concern of outgoing GOP Congressman Thomas Massie. Zach Lahn, Iowa’s GOP gubernatorial nominee, took to social media to defend the waiver after some speculated it would actively hurt farmers by raising the demand for red dye diesel.
Additionally, multiple elected officials and journalists took to social media as Trump discussed the economic hurt caused by repeated military actions in Iran.
“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping the country safe. They could take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Francisco. This is a very small price to pay,” he said.
There was widespread applause along with many sideways glances, as it appeared Trump had stated that he wouldn’t mind losing a west coast city in exchange for ending the war in Iran. California Governor Gavin Newsom, along with the mayors of Los Angeles and San Diego, interpreted his comments as such. Others, such as TMZ, interpreted Trump to simply be worrying that Iran would target a major city should it develop that capability.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb reacted strongly via Twitter.
“No American president should talk about American cities being wiped out as a rally applause line, and no one who calls himself a patriot should stand next to him while he does it. Ricketts and Pillen did,” she said. “Nebraskans voters [sic] across party lines are over Trump’s con-job. We need leaders who will actually fight for us.”
Ricketts’ and Pillen’s opponents chose not to react with hostility to the president’s comments. In a statement, the Osborn camp pitched itself as aligned with the Trump Administration on rural priorities.
“President Trump announced his support for Right to Repair, one of Dan Osborn’s core policies, and expanding access to red-dyed diesel, an important step to help Nebraskan farmers. Dan is glad to have Trump’s support in his fight for these policies against corrupt billionaires like Pete Ricketts, who takes money from John Deere and puts their profits over our farmers” they said.
Similarly, Walz focused fire on her opponent rather than the commander-in-chief.
“Jim Pillen promised to cut property taxes by 40%, then admitted he hadn’t cut them at all. Instead, he pushed a 36% sales tax hike on everything we buy while cutting his own taxes by $1 million,” she said in a statement. “Pillen had a chance today to tell Nebraskans what he’s done for them. Instead, he was busy handing out honors to his Washington friends.”
Steve, a rally goer from Grand Island, told The Plains Sentinel the issue he most desired to hear about was election integrity – an issue Trump made the centerpiece of his closing pitch for the Republican ticket.
“I will pass the SAVE America Act to defend our sacred American elections. We’ll get it done,” he said. “The only reason the Democrats won’t approve is because they want to cheat and they do cheat… it’s a disgrace.”
And despite high gas prices, Steve said he still supports Trump’s economic record.
“You don’t hear about all the results,” Steve said. “Poverty level is down to the lowest it’s been in a long time. Middle class family income is up. A lot of things are positive. That doesn’t mean we agree with everything that he’s done, or the manner in which he does it.”
— Lewis Thune is a College Fix writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.