Big rig trucks and drivers are the glue that hold America together. It wasn’t so long ago that the men and women driving those rigs were portrayed as swaggering rebels. Remember “Smokey and the Bear” starring Burt Reynolds? Or the song, “Convoy” by C.W.McCall. Pop culture celebrated drivers’ rebellious spirit, but the swagger is gone, squeezed by the cost of diesel. There are reports of drivers pulling over and abandoning their rigs.
With diesel selling for almost $7.00 a gallon in much of the country, it costs a driver north of $1800 for 300 gallons, (which is what those big dual tanks hold). That nut is too big for many operators. According to TheStreet, a reliable business publication, a wave of bankruptcies has swept the industry in recent weeks. Last month, 16 filed for bankruptcy. Carriers ranging from small owner operators to fleets operating dozens of trucks have been badly hit.
Worried that our impending election will be a disaster for Republicans, President Trump has come up with a noxious scheme to lower fuel prices. The idea is to end the current embargo against Russia. Then, flood US and European markets with cheap diesel fuel courtesy of Moscow. To further this idea, American negotiators have even floated a plan to discourage Ukraine from attacking Russian oil refineries.
The scheme stinks. All Ukraine has to do is stop fighting for its life, stop complaining about the death of innocent civilians, and the ravaging of Ukrainian cities. Just give the Russian invaders breathing room in this ugly land war with its trenches and horrifying casualties numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Under this plan there is scant reference to Ukrainian bloodshed and destruction. Ukraine must stop counter-attacking Russian oil facilities, Ukraine must bleed, and it gets worse. Along with demanding Ukraine’s hands-off Russian diesel refineries, there is talk of freeing up the $100 billion in Russian cash currently seized by the West. If released, billions of dollars would be handed over to Moscow. It does not take an expert on the war to understand how opening the world to Russian diesel would help fund the slaughter and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The Russian President was obviously elated when President Trump in a phone call last Friday with Putin offered to buy as much diesel fuel as Russia could sell. Putin said after the call that Russia had “confirmed its willingness to supply oil and petroleum products to the US market and global markets at large.”
Russia is desperate to sell diesel to America. If he gets it, what do you think Putin intends to spend the money on? He’s going to spend it on more missiles and drones to wreak havoc, death and destruction on Ukrainian civilians just as he has been since 2022.
Whatever we think of President Trump’s moves overseas, none is as disappointing as our failure to support Ukraine. Russia brutally attacked them, slaughtering civilians. A so-called “Energy Ceasefire,” between Ukraine and Russia. Putin showed how little the agreement means by hitting six Ukrainian energy plants today.
But Ukraine survives. Screw Putin. Ukraine and Zelensky have stopped him in his tracks. If you care about American truck drivers, get our refineries to produce more diesel. Release the reserves. Do whatever you can to end the war. Don’t sacrifice Ukraine, or American values. Ten-four?