Donald Trump promised at a rally in Mississippi on Monday that oil prices would fall “very soon,” while declaring that he had made America “the hottest country in the world.”
Trump was in the state to support Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s re-election campaign when he acknowledged that he had expected oil prices to rise “much, much higher” because of the war in the Middle East.
He then said Americans should expect prices to drop, claiming gasoline in Iowa had already fallen to between “$1.85 and $1.95” per gallon.
The president also insisted that the United States had regained its status as “the hottest country in the world” and dismissed a temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran as 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 nation’s poorest states, Trump told Mississippians that their incomes were “the highest they’ve ever been” and that the “poverty rate has just reached its best and lowest level” in history.
It was Trump’s first visit to the Magnolia State in seven years.
Hyde-Smith appeared on stage for less than a minute before asking the upbeat crowd: “Is this not the best president in our lifetime?”
Speaking in Mississippi, Trump promised voters that oil and gas prices would fall “very soon.”
Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith faces an unexpectedly close race for the Magnolia State’s Senate seat. She appeared on stage for less than a minute during Monday night’s event.
The Cook Political Report continues to rate Mississippi as Republican-leaning, but Democratic candidate Scott Colom has cut Hyde-Smith’s lead to single digits in recent polls.
Earlier in his speech, which was again interrupted by a heckler, Trump made his customary appeal to voters, asking them to “pretend I’m on the ballot” as he visited the site just south of the Tennessee border.
Mississippi has not elected a Democratic senator in more than four decades, but Democrats have become increasingly hopeful about an upset this year after Hyde-Smith was caught off guard.
Trump carried the state by 23 points in 2024, while Hyde-Smith won her most recent race by seven points.
Conservatives now fear that the “blue wave” moving through traditionally deep-red states such as Alaska, Kansas and Texas could be spreading elsewhere as well.
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The Cook Political Report recently changed its rating of the Senate race from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican.”
Democratic challenger Scott Colom said he planned to attend the rally and speak with voters.
“I’m going to listen,” he said during a public press conference on Monday.
Colom recently went viral with an advertisement mocking what he described as a tone-deaf comment by Hyde-Smith about rising beef prices.
Geoff Pender, politics editor at the non-profit newsroom Mississippi Today, told Our News Outlet 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 Democrat ‘supercharge and overperform on turnout.’
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’
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.
