Trump takes transactional politics to a new level at latest campaign rally

President Donald Trump told a Kansas campaign crowd on Monday that he would keep year-round sales of E15 fuel, a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol, in place only if Republican Sen. Roger Marshall wins reelection. MS NOW columnist Steve Benen calls the stance especially brazen, since nothing would stop Trump from simply extending the waiver he has already granted Kansas.

Federal rules normally confine E15 sales to the summer driving season, and rural Kansans have long wanted the restriction lifted. Hours earlier, the White House had publicly credited Trump with approving year-round sales to help corn growers and drivers. At the rally, though, Trump said he would make the change permanent with Marshall in office but would not do so if Rep. Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee, prevailed. He said he was doing it only for Marshall.

Benen places the remarks within a pattern. Trump recently told a Kentucky audience that an economic revitalization project would get federal investment only if his preferred Senate candidate won, and he suggested to an Ohio crowd that a Democratic governor could affect future emergency aid requests. He also keeps promising $5,000 checks to adults, costing roughly $1.3 trillion, if the elections please him.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →