American farmers are openly questioning why the Trump administration has betrayed them on so many issues, from tariffs to mass deportations.
The Washington Post editorial board called the onslaught a "barrage of friendly fire," since the majority of farmers are, in fact, "solidly Republican."
One of the biggest problems for farmers has been President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts, since "roughly half of crop farmworkers are estimated to lack legal immigration status," according to the piece.
"Produce growers report that up to 70 percent of their workforce will not show up in the days after an ICE raid, too scared to leave home."
When this happens right in the middle of the harvest season for crops like berries and leafy greens, farmers worry they'll "miss the brief window, sometimes two to three days, for harvesting before crops go past their prime."
"Such a frontal attack on agriculture is unusual in American politics," the board wrote. "Farmers are accustomed to being supported and subsidized by the government — not least via multibillion dollar income supports that are perpetually extended each time the farm bill is renewed. Indeed, Trump’s tax bill, signed into law on Independence Day, included $66 billion in new spending for farm programs."
And things may be about to get worse for farmers due to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again Movement."
RFK Jr.'s Department of Health and Human Services "issued a report warning against the supposed dangers of key pesticides, glyphosate and atrazine. But these have been used for decades and are ubiquitous in a variety of crops grown in the United States and across the world," the board wrote.
The board quoted Neil Caskey, chief executive of the National Corn Growers Association, as saying, “Our concern is that the solutions will be aimed at problems that don’t necessarily exist."
Caskey warned that, "if government recommendations expected on Aug. 12 include bans on glyphosate or atrazine," there will be even more "disruption and pain across rural America.”