Trump on farmers who get hurt by his trade wars: ‘They’ll understand’

On Monday, President Trump acknowledged that U.S. farmers could be negatively affected by his trade wars, but brushed off the concern by saying they’d “understand.”

“But if we do a deal with China, if, during the course of a negotiation they want to hit the farmers because they think that hits me, I wouldn’t say that’s nice. But I tell you, our farmers are great patriots,” Trump said according to The Hill. “These are great patriots. They understand that they’re doing this for the country. And we’ll make it up to them. And in the end, they’re going to be much stronger than they are right now.”

Trump said that farmers have been “trending downward over an eight-year period” and boasted that they’ll “be better off than they ever were” due to his actions on the North American Free Trade Agreement and China.

Trump has aggressively hit China with tariffs, a move that escalated when he proposed $50 billion in penalties last week. China retaliated by proposing $50 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods — which in turn has Trump seeking an extra $100 billion in tariffs on China.

Since China is a major source of agricultural exports, farmers have expressed worry that their businesses could take a hit as a result of Trump’s policies. Speaking to The Hill, The Farm Bureau said it’s their hope that “both sides will eventually arrive at an agreement that does not include tariffs.”

“Whatever happens, you can be certain our policy will support the interests of farmers nationwide.”

Featured image via Flickr