Seven federal and state GOP lawmakers from western Wisconsin were no-shows at an event packed with farmers concerned about the Trump administration's impact on their communities and jobs, the Wisconsin Examiner reported on Friday.
"Madison-area U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth), state Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) and state Reps. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) and Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) were in attendance," reported Henry Redman.
However, "U.S. Reps. Tom Tiffany and Derrick Van Orden, state Reps. Rob Sommerfeld (R-Bloomer), Treig Pronschinske (R-Mondovi) and Clint Moses (R-Mondovi) and state Sens. Jesse James (R-Thorp) and Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) were all invited but did not attend or send a staff member," according to the report.
The Democrats in attendance seized on their GOP colleagues' absence, with Phelps telling the crowd at Chippewa Falls hosted by the Wisconsin Farmers Union, “All four of us want you to know that there are people in elected office who want to fight for you. Because I think there’s a lot of fear that comes from the fact that we’re seeing a lot of noise and action from the people who aren’t and some of the people that didn’t show up to this. So I hope that you will also ask questions of them when you get a chance.”
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Pocan took an even more direct approach, repeatedly joking that Van Orden must be "on vacation."
Trump rattled global markets as he entered office by vowing massive new tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, proclaiming it was in retaliation for trade deficits and for drug and migration problems at the border. Ultimately, he blinked on the Canadian and Mexican tariffs at the very last minute, agreeing to a one-month delay in exchange for some border security measures Canada and Mexico previously agreed to enact.
Economists have broadly warned that if fully enacted, Trump's tariff plans could lead to a surge in prices for energy and retail goods. Farmers at that event, who frequently sell to international markets and simultaneously face threats to their labor markets from Trump's mass deportation plans, emphasized how bad the tariffs could be for them.
“How do you offer a price to a farmer? Is it gonna be $400 a ton, or is it gonna be $500 a ton?” said Les Danielson, a farmer from Cadott. “I’m not even thinking about the fall. I’m just thinking about the spring and the uncertainty. This isn’t cuts to the federal budget, this is just plain chaos and uncertainty that really benefits no one. And I know it’s kind of cool to think we’re just playing this big game of chicken. Everybody’s gonna blink. But when you’re a co-op, or when you’re a farmer trying to figure out how much you can buy, it’s not fine.”
