Donald Trump framed his unqualified support of ethanol Tuesday as an act of political independence — this, before a gathering of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit, less than two weeks away from the state’s caucus.
“I’m not asking all of you biofuel people and you ethanol people, ‘Please, can I have money? Can I have money?’ I don’t want anything. I do what’s right. So when I want to go with ethanol, I can go with ethanol,” Trump said to polite applause.
The Republican frontrunner told the crowd that he’s been with them “from day one,” and said he would advise Congress to be “cautious in attempting to [change] any part of the RFS [Renewable Fuel Standard].”
“I mean, we have to do that,” he said.
Trump also pitted the state’s biofuels industry against oil interests in his remarks.
“Don’t forget — other candidates are supported by the oil industry … And they have them totally wrapped up,” Trump stated. “Me, I’m going to do what’s right for the country.”
Trump is currently neck and neck with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in Iowa polling. According to the RealClearPolitics average, he holds a narrow 27.8 to 26.7 percent advantage, with Sen. Marco Rubio in third at 11.7 percent.
Cruz recently hit Trump for having “New York values.” Most of the ethanol, though, is in Iowa.
Watch the video below. Key bit starts around 8:30.
