Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, speaking as voters head to the polls in his state's primary election Tuesday, told Newsmax that President Joe Biden's plans for the economy won't fix anything and that the plan is too late.
"We certainly see inflation all over the place," the GOP governor, who is not seeking reelection because of term limits, told Newsmax's "National Report." "Diesel's up over $5 a gallon, which impacts our farmers and ranchers, and that's our largest industry here in the state. Impacts truckers as well. One trucker told me it was $1,500 to fill up his tank."
The Fed has been building its balance sheet by creating more money, and the partisan stimulus package that passed in March 2021 led directly to inflation, said Ricketts.
"It's like he [Biden] doesn't even have economists advising him," the governor said. "You got to start making sure that we're controlling spending at the federal level, and the Fed has got to take action to start raising interest rates."
Americans want a solution, Ricketts said, and they will hold Biden accountable.
"It was his policies that led to this," Ricketts said. "The high-level proposals that the White House put out are not solutions. This to me looks more like a blame game from the president."
With this being primary day, Ricketts endorsed GOP candidate Jim Pillen for the nomination in Nebraska, while former President Donald Trump endorsed Charles Herbster.
Ricketts said he picked Pillen because he is a businessman who is a Christian conservative who will "bring his business practices to continue to build on what we've done in my administration when we brought business practices to running government more like a business."
"I hope that he will build on my foundation and take it to the next level, and he's the only candidate that has the qualifications to do that," said Ricketts. "The other candidates? They're too liberal, or they grew their businesses in a state like Missouri."
Ricketts also said he's not concerned about Trump's endorsement of Herbster.
"When it comes to President Trump, we are united and agree on many different policies, but in this case, we picked different candidates in the primary race, and that's not unusual," Ricketts said. "Nebraskans will be the ones who make that choice, and that's why I think Jim Pillen, who is actually the true Nebraskan and grew his business here, will be the one who wins this race today."
Ricketts also spoke out about the leaked Supreme Court document on Roe v. Wade and commented that the initial decision in 1973 was horrible, as it took power away from the states.
"The states should be regulating this and I look forward to this Roe v. Wade being overturned and for us having the opportunity here in Nebraska to do more to protect pre-born babies," he said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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