‘Lipstick on a pig’: Trump’s red-dyed diesel plan is more midterms appeal than gas price solution, experts say—and even truckers are calling his bluff

Diesel fuel prices are hovering at record highs above $6 per gallon amid the ongoing Iran war, but both energy analysts and trucking industry groups say the Trump administration’s new strategy is less a viable solution—and more of an act of political posturing.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week deferring taxes on the use of red-dyed diesel, a type of fuel typically only used by farmers and truckers.

Because this type of fuel is exempt from highway fuel taxes, it is illegal to use on public roads.

The red dye also allows a road inspector to detect whether a trucker is evading taxes by using the fuel on highways.

The tax deferral, which would theoretically increase the supply of fuel truckers had access to by temporarily relieving the tax burden of 24.4 cents-per-gallon , is in place through the end of the year.

Rather than rejoice at the prospect of more fuel with fewer strings attached, experts and stakeholders don’t see many advantages to the change.

Instead, they contend, it’s a way for the Trump administration to try to save face as approval ratings continue to sink.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published this week revealed a 32% approval rating for the president, with Americans citing cost of living as their top concern.

Trump has floated a suspension of the federal gas tax ahead of the midterm elections, though the move would require Congressional approval, and it has drawn widespread criticism over concerns of it creating an additional debt burden, as the tax revenue would have to come from elsewhere in the federal budget.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, sees the red-dyed diesel tax deferral as a way for the White House to bypass Congress while appearing to the public as if it is addressing concerns over rocketing fuel costs.

“This dyed diesel waiver—it doesn’t add supply globally.

It doesn’t improve the reasons that have led to high prices,” De Haan told Fortune .

“It would be more akin to lipstick on a pig.” White House Spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Fortune the executive action “will quickly cut diesel costs and put money directly back into the pockets of American truckers,” and save them more than $100 per fuel refill.

The ramifications of a red-dyed diesel tax deferral Chief among the concerns from industry stakeholders is that a tax deferral is not the same as a tax break, likely leaving truckers or drivers to still have to pay for the use of red-dyed diesel down the line.