The Trump administration has tried to downplay this reality.
Last month at FarmFest, a three-day ag show here in Minnesota, several farmers made national news when they confronted U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue about the pain the president’s trade war has caused them.
In front of hundreds of other farmers, they told Perdue that contrary to the president’s tweets, farmers aren’t “doing great again.” They talked about how their markets are disappearing. One state farm leader pointed out that when a farmer meets with his lender and explains that they can’t make a payment, being a “patriot” in the eyes of the president does nothing to spare them from bankruptcy.
Even in a room full of the president’s supporters, the comments were met with nodding heads and widespread applause. Like me, the farmers in the room that day have reached their breaking point.
View the complete September 4 commentary by Tim Dufault on The StarTribune website here.