CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisconsin — Fertilizer is up more than 25 percent this year, diesel is close to a record high, and farmers are still reeling from billions in crop losses from last year’s trade war. And as President Donald Trump spoke inside a packed barn on a corn and soybean farm here Friday, he acknowledged that prices have soared even as he promised they would come down soon.
“We’re going to come out [of Iran], and your fertilizer prices are going to go way down, just like they were four months ago,” Trump said from a stage in front of a pair of green John Deere tractors and a sign that said, “Fighting for American Farmers.” “Your fertilizer is down, your energy is down, your oil, your gas is all coming way down.”
Trump’s promises are at odds with the predictions of many analysts, who warn that even a swift agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz may not avert a spike in fuel prices before the July Fourth holiday. The fertilizer sector has been even more severely affected, as the Persian Gulf region produces 30 percent of globally traded chemical fertilizer, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute.
The disruption has strained Trump’s relationship with a core part of his coalition, and he went out of his way Friday to present himself as a champion of rural America.
“As president, I fought for the American farmer like no one has ever fought before,” the president said. “I’m up here today, I don’t need this. … I’m here today because I like the farmer.”
Trump also spent much of his speech riffing on his pet issues, appearing to deviate from prepared remarks about agriculture and the price of fertilizer. He held up a photo of a fountain he had repaired in front of Union Station in Washington, touting his work to remake the nation’s capital. He praised the U.S. military’s efforts in Iran, and he promoted his border policies, though he said his advisers had told him not to talk about the issue, where he is polling poorly.
Trump came to boost the local congressman, Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin), and GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany. Both races are considered toss-ups. Democrats will pick their candidates in the August primary.
“I love the place, and hopefully you’re going to be voting Republican because I call it the sane way to go,” he said. “If [the Democrats] win, this country is finished. We’re in trouble.”
Rebecca Cooke, Van Orden’s leading Democratic opponent, said she is meeting with three-time Trump voters who feel betrayed by his second term, especially higher gas prices. She accused the Republicans of using farmers as props at Trump’s roundtable.
“It’s really clear that they’re concerned about their ability to be able to hold on to this U.S. House seat,” she said at a news conference at her family’s farm earlier Friday. “Derrick Van Orden is calling in the cavalry to come and save him.”
She added that the war in Iran has driven up the cost of such items as diesel and fertilizer, which are vital to farmers’ livelihoods. “It flies in the face of what people thought they were voting for when they voted for Trump,” Cooke said. “They thought they’re voting for an America First agenda, and this is exactly the opposite.”
Democrats also emphasized that under Trump, health care costs are rising and many rural health facilities are closing, including two major hospitals in the surrounding Chippewa Valley. “No one in Wisconsin has been hit harder by Donald Trump than our farmers,” Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) told reporters on Thursday. “He can come here, but he can’t outrun his record.”
Trump, however, cheered the higher-than-expected job gains released Friday, as employers more than doubled economists’ estimates by adding 172,000 jobs in May. But he also chided the stock market for falling, as investors worried inflation would lead to higher interest rates.
“Too much emphasis is placed on inflation,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on the way to Wisconsin. “I hope the market starts to learn that when you have good numbers, the market should go up, not down.”
Wisconsin is a swing state that Trump narrowly won in 2024 but that has seen Democrats make recent gains, for example capturing state Supreme Court seats as Trump’s approval rating drops.
But in Chippewa Falls, there were signs that he still commands strong support from his followers. Outside the speaking venue, cars lined up for more than a mile down a country road, and the room reached capacity two hours ahead of Trump’s arrival, leading organizers to turn people away or let them huddle outside.
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