President Trump hosts farming roundtable in western Wisconsin
President Trump was in western Wisconsin Friday afternoon to host a roundtable on farming at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls.
Mr. Trump spoke alongside U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Wisconsin Republican candidates. He addressed the inflation that many Americans are feeling.
"Over the last couple of months, since we went in for the military operation [in Iran], you've seen fertilizer go up and you've seen energy go up. It's going to come down to where it was, or lower," Mr. Trump said.
The cost of diesel for tractors is up more than $2 per gallon from a year ago. The president said he expects prices to plummet soon.
Friday's gathering also served as a campaign event with GOP candidates in tight races. One of the wins Mr. Trump pointed to was restoring the soybean trade with China.
"They didn't negotiate one new trade deal for farmers. I just made a great deal ... President Xi, he's buying billions and billions of dollars worth of soybeans and other things, and you're seeing that starting to kick in," Mr. Trump said.
China bought more than 40% of all American soybeans before Mr. Trump's trade war. The number is now closer to 15%. The USDA is predicting this year will be the second-largest soybean harvest on record.
WCCO's sister station in Milwaukee, WDJT, spoke with farmers and residents ahead of the president's visit in Chippewa County, where he locked down more than 60% of the vote in 2024. Most said they support him and his policies, but many said they want to hear his "plans to help the little guy."
"I have faith in it, you know what I mean?" said Chippewa Falls resident Peggy Peters. "I haven't seen a whole lot recently, but I think it is going to happen, if that makes any sense. You know, something that is a work in progress, obviously. You know, he has a lot to do."
Mr. Trump made news when he last visited Wisconsin while on the campaign trail in October 2024, where he told a crowd in Green Bay, clad in an orange safety vest, that "whether the women like it or not," he was "going to protect them" — a statement he said his advisors were against.
Last week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has a liberal majority, announced it would hear an appeals case that could lead to a redrawing of the state's congressional district maps that currently favor the Republicans.
