President Donald Trump on Tuesday traveled to Iowa to tout his administration's decision to lift an ethanol fuel ban aimed at cutting smog.
Speaking in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Trump hailed the move as an American success story — even as he blasted presidential primary frontrunner Joe Biden for failing to embrace the fuel when he was vice president, The Hill reported.
"America must never be held hostage to foreign suppliers of energy as we have under 'Sleepy Joe,'" Trump said at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, using his nickname for Biden, the news outlet reported.
"Under the previous administration, our leaders rejected American energy and they rejected ethanol. They imposed radical restrictions on our farmers, refused to allow talk of E-15 during the busiest driving time of the year. How ridiculous was that?"
Iowa is the largest state producer of corn.
Trump ducked the science behind the Obama administration ban on a 15% ethanol mix in gasoline during summer months.
"No one could explain to me why. Not person was able to explain why they cut it off. But we ended it," he said, The Hill reported.
"You were taken advantage of by stupidity, by incompetence, by people who don't care. You were treated very badly, but you aren't being treated badly anymore," he added.
And he called his decision a victory for U.S. energy.
"More American ethanol production means less dependence on foreign supplies," Trump said, The Hill reported. "Quite simply, it means more energy. And what can be wrong with that? And it's very good energy."
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