Trump brings farmers to White House to tout relief from the pain he's unleashed on them - and bash Somalis along the way [View all]

Source: The Independent

Friday 27 March 2026 14:59 EDT


One month into a war that has sent fuel prices through the roof and sparked fears of fertilizer shortages that could wreak havoc on the world’s food supply, President Donald Trump is attempting to convince American farmers that everything is fine and they should be grateful to him for taxpayer handouts meant to soften the blow from his tariff policies.

The president took to the Truman Balcony at the White House on Friday to address what he billed as “the single largest gathering of American farmers that the White House had ever seen” and buck up attendees by touting new policies that he claimed would save farmers money and make it easier for them to remain in business despite the spiraling input costs as a result of his own handiwork.

He claimed farmers had been “crushed” by the policies of his predecessor, Joe Biden, who he accused of having “crippled the American agriculture industry with brutal restrictions” and failing to negotiate “even a single new trade deal on your behalf.” “Now the American farmers, ranchers, growers and producers, once again of a true friend and champion in the Oval Office,” Trump said, as he bragged about having rescinded environmental regulations on water use, enacting tax cuts and deductions that benefit agricultural operators, and “virtually ending” the estate tax which Republicans have long opposed.

Trump also claimed that American farmers “do not want handouts” but only seek “a level playing field,” but just moments later he boasted about using revenues from the illegal import taxes he’d imposed — which have been struck down by the Supreme Court — to give farmers the handouts he’d just said they did not want.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/rump-farmers-white-house-tariffs-iran-b2947296.html