United States president Donald Trump displays a freshly-signed executive order during the midterm rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center at Fonner Park on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island.
GRAND ISLAND, NEB. – President Donald Trump visited Grand Island Monday for a midterm rally to get Republican voters excited ahead of competitive races in Nebraska.
President Donald Trump held the rally at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds to support Sen. Pete Ricketts, Gov. Jim Pillen and other GOP candidates in their upcoming midterm elections. Over 5,800 were in attendance, prompting event organizers to set up overflow seating and two 75-inch TVs.
Lines of attendees began to form at dawn alongside Trump merchandise vendors who could be heard yelling, “Don’t be a Democrat, buy a MAGA hat.” The queue for attendance wrapped completely around the parking lot and outside of the Nebraska State Fairgrounds’ fencing. Thousands waited for hours.
The event opened with remarks from Pillen and Ricketts.
The crowd was rather quiet until Trump took the stage around 6:23 p.m. and was met with “USA” chants. He opened the evening by saying he loved Nebraska and that he had won the state three times.
Trump won the Nebraska popular vote by as much as 25 percentage points against the Democratic nominee in the last three presidential elections.
“I like you, and you like me,” he said.
In his remarks, Trump touted his administration’s accomplishments during his first two years back in the White House, such as the One Big Beautiful Bill, while criticizing the Biden Administration.
“Two years ago, we were living in a dark age, but we quickly turned it into the golden age of America,” Trump said. “Our nation is doing better now than it’s ever done. We are stronger. We are doing better.”
He also pointed to the progress he said the U.S. is making in the war in Iran.
“We’re kicking Iran’s a—. You do know that,” Trump said.
Trump also pledged to bring gas prices down below $1.85 a gallon after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. AAA reported the average price for gas in Nebraska on Monday was $4.21.
Trump urged the crowd to vote in November as if he were on the ballot, saying that voter turnout was higher in years when he was running for office.
“Do me one favor, pretend I am on the ballot,” he said.
His remarks prompted chants of “four more years” from the crowd.
Throughout his speech, Trump attacked nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn and Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former state Sen. Lynn Walz.
The president echoed sentiments from the Ricketts campaign, calling Osborn a fake independent lunatic who will say anything to get elected.
Ricketts, a former two-term governor, is in a competitive race against Osborn in a state where a non-Republican last won a Senate seat in 2006. Osborn lost his first bid for the U.S. Senate by about 6.7% in 2024 against Sen. Deb Fischer.
“Nebraska is going to prove America doesn’t belong to those who hate it,” Trump said.
The president brought Pillen on stage and called Democratic gubernatorial candidate former state Sen. Lynne Walz a “deranged relative” of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024. Lynne’s husband, Chris Walz, is a third cousin of the Minnesota governor.
“One Walz as a governor in America is way too many,” Pillen said
“Political attacks won’t lower anyone’s property taxes or reopen a single market for our farmers. Nebraskans deserve a governor whose word actually means something,” Lynne Walz said in a statement. “I’m ready to show up for you.”
During the event, Trump signed an executive order aimed at lowering record-high diesel prices that would “allow anyone to purchase tax-free red-dyed diesel for any reason.”
Red-dyed diesel is the same as regular diesel, but is untaxed and dyed for non-road uses, mainly agricultural and industrial applications.
AAA reports the national average diesel price at $6.32 on Monday, a 71% increase from the average price a year ago at $3.69.
Trump said the move should drive down the cost of all goods.
In a statement, Osborn’s campaign applauded Trump for signing the executive order and supporting right-to-repair policies.
“Dan is glad to have Trump’s support in his fight for these policies against corrupt billionaires like Pete Ricketts, who takes money from John Deere and puts their profits over our farmers,” the statement said. “Dan urges Pete to join the club and start pushing for these common sense measures.”
Ricketts took the stage with Trump to speak on immigration and border security, a major pillar of Trump’s return to the White House.
“He shares the same open border policy as all the Democratic Socialists,” Ricketts said of Osborn. “Let’s make sure we keep a secure border. Let’s keep a safe county.”
Trump brought Jacqueline Medina, the mom of Lizbeth Medina, 16, who was killed by an undocumented immigrant in December 2023 in Texas, to speak.
Lizbeth Medina was raised by her mother in Grand Island.
“Remember her name. Her life mattered. She should’ve been protected by the system that failed her,” Medina said.
Trump also brought on stage Reps. Mike Flood (NE-1) and Adrian Smith (NE-3), whom he called “warriors”.
Throughout the night, each politician urged people to vote. Pillen told attendees to vote Republican up and down the ballot to “keep values on our side.”
Trump closed out the event by saying, “We will Make America Great Again,” which was met with cheers from the crowd.
Trump’s visit marked the first time a sitting president has visited Nebraska since he held a rally at Eppley Airfield in Omaha during the 2020 election cycle. George W. Bush was the last sitting president to visit Grand Island in 2006.
Trump visited Greenwood in 2022 to campaign for Charles Herbster, who was running against Pillen for the GOP nomination for governor.
The president’s visit to the Cornhusker state marks a series of events in red states aimed at rallying GOP voters across the country for November’s midterm elections. Before he visited central Nebraska, Trump held events in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.
Early voting in Nebraska started Monday.