Brian Kilmeade Calls Donald Trump's Zelensky Plea 'Weird' as Diesel Spikes

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade broke with President Donald Trump's push for Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, calling the request "a big risk and kind of weird" on Tuesday's edition of The Brian Kilmeade Show as U.S. diesel prices climbed to an all-time high.

The remarks came hours before Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the administration has been pressing for an energy-infrastructure ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. Kilmeade, a reliable Trump ally, framed the president's demand as a gift to Vladimir Putin that could backfire on Republicans in November.

What Brian Kilmeade Said About Trump's Diesel Demand

Kilmeade's comments followed a clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told Fox & Friends on Tuesday that the administration would propose "an energy infrastructure of ceasefire in which Ukraine's infrastructure is not being targeted. Russian energy supplies are not being targeted as well. It's an ideal outcome." Rubio added: "But just like the war, it takes two sides to agree to that. And so that's been the challenge."

The host then pointed to reports that Russia was moving to keep its diesel export ban in place, arguing Moscow was deliberately squeezing the market. "When are we going to realize the Russians have no redeeming qualities, Vladimir Putin anyway? Maybe some of the Russian people do. I just haven't seen them yet," Kilmeade said.

"So he says, okay, it will be bad for president and his midterm elections. So we're going to up the price of diesel, even though the president went out of his way to condemn Ukraine for going after diesel, which I thought was a big risk and kind of weird. It didn't make much sense to me," he continued.

"They know the president's up for the midterm elections. They know that if the price of diesel is high, his chance of success is lessened." — Brian Kilmeade

As Trump addressed the General Assembly and urged Kyiv to ease off Russian energy targets, Kilmeade reacted on air. "Well, the energy sector literally fueling the Russian machine, the machine that invaded them," he said, tying the news to markets: "So that's not great for the price of diesel. That's probably why the market's down 180 points, it was in the green all day."

Trump's Push for an Energy Truce With Russia

Trump first made the demand publicly on September 14 at his golf resort in Ireland. "Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia," he said, according to NBC News. "There are plenty of other targets. Don't hit diesel fuel, because that's hurting, that's hurting the world."

On Monday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that "Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry due to its War with Ukraine," adding that "a large number of their Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission." Following a Sunday phone call with Trump, Zelensky said there was "diplomatic momentum," according to the Kyiv Post, though he did not publicly address the refinery campaign. Ukraine has long maintained that Russian energy infrastructure is a legitimate military target because oil revenue funds the invasion.

Russia's Diesel Export Ban and the Price Record

Russia first imposed a full ban on producer diesel exports on July 8, after Ukrainian drone strikes knocked refineries offline and triggered domestic shortages, according to The Moscow Times. The ban was extended through August and, on August 29, through September 30. This week, as Ukraine kept hitting refineries, Bloomberg reported that Russia was set to extend the ban further, with three of the country's six largest diesel refineries forced to cut or halt output in September, according to Reuters.

Kilmeade's assertion that Moscow is prolonging the ban to damage Trump politically is his own interpretation. The Russian government has consistently described the measure as a response to domestic fuel shortages, and Trump himself attributed the refinery losses to Ukrainian strikes rather than a Kremlin strategy.

The price surge is documented. The EIA's weekly on-highway diesel average reached $6.529 a gallon on Monday, up 24.4 cents in a week and $2.78 above the same week last year. The prior week's $6.285 reading was already a record, according to FreightWaves, which noted the weekly average stood at $4.578 in early July, just before the Russian ban took effect.

Analysts caution against pinning the spike on any single cause. Chris Beauchamp of IG Group told Al Jazeera that Ukrainian strikes are a "small ingredient" of the broader picture, with the Iran conflict's disruption to Gulf shipping the larger driver of the price shock.

Midterm Stakes for Republicans

Kilmeade repeatedly linked fuel prices to the November elections. "Now, it looks like the Senate is a toss up. And the House, they say, is leans Democrat. But I think they're both in play, especially if the president can somehow alleviate the pressure on both the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait by the Red Sea," he said.

Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters, appearing later in the show, conceded the energy pressure while defending the president's Iran policy. "Everybody wants the war to end because they will all see gas prices go down," Gruters said.

The numbers underline the concern. PolitiKool's polling average puts Trump's approval at 38.8 percent, with 58.2 percent disapproving, a net rating of minus 19.4. Democrats lead the generic congressional ballot by 6.7 points, and PolitiKool rates control of the Senate a toss-up.

What Happens Next

Russia's current ban lapses on September 30, and a formal extension decision is expected before then. The administration is still seeking a two-sided energy ceasefire that Rubio acknowledged remains unagreed. Whether Ukraine pauses its refinery campaign, and whether diesel retreats from record territory before voters head to the polls, are questions Kilmeade left open on air.