Things are so bad in rural America, specifically for farmers, that many long-standing red states are fed up to the point that they are seemingly turning blue. Thanks to fallout from President Donald Trump’s second administration affecting fuel prices and tariffs on agriculture, the impact on farmers has been unprecedented, with many having to file for bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy filings have jumped roughly 85 percent since his reelection. Trump is now making a last-ditch appeal as the midterm elections approach, hoping to win over voters in states with the largest number of farms.
John Tsitrian, a South Dakota business executive who writes about rural America, says Trump is at fault. “Farmers are hurting thanks to Trump’s apocalyptic screw-up,” he titled an article this summer. In the article, he gets right to the point, noting: “I believe that today’s tough farm economy, in regular need of federal cash infusions, is the result of a disaster that has a specific name attached to it: Donald Trump. Unlike most disasters, this one was utterly foreseeable. Rural voters were nonetheless responsive to his rhetoric and supported him solidly in 2024.”
A report from The Guardian reveals that polls suggest that Republican Senate candidates stand a good chance of losing in Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas, despite Trump previously winning those states in 2024. As for what caused this major shift, it was Trump’s inclusion of the U.S. in the Iran war, which increased the price of fuel by 70 percent. Fuel is a major ingredient in farming, necessary for on-farm operations such as powering machinery and heating buildings, as well as for external uses such as manufacturing. Tsitrian’s article is also referenced in The Guardian’s report.
Other factors have played a role in rural states’ attitude towards Trump and his administration. His “big, beautiful bill” resulted in major cuts to food assistance and Medicaid, which will cause an estimated 1.8 million rural Americans to lose health insurance and struggle with purchasing food for their families.
“He has sold out rural America with his policies,” said Jon Tester, a third-generation Montana farmer and former US senator. Rural voters previously supported Trump again due to his promises to decrease costs and keep the U.S. out of unnecessary, expensive wars overseas. Those promises were not honored.
John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, said that farmers “are facing the worst economic and financial crisis since the farm crisis of the 1980s” during a recent conference in Washington.
Rural farmers have spoken out in recent months. “Compared to last year, our fuel bill is $50,000 higher,” Vance Ehmke, a Kansas farmer, told the Hastings (Nebraska) Tribune,” explaining that fertilizer has added $20,000 or $40,000 increase, which he attributes to Trump’s war in Iran. “I want to tell you that I am a Republican, and I’m p——.”
Things were on much more solid ground before Trump’s current stay in the White House. The U.S. and Brazil previously each provided about 40 percent of China’s soybean imports. Thanks to Trump’s trade wars with China and China preferring to do business with more stable partners, the U.S. now provides just 23 percent of China’s soybeans, with Brazil giving over 60 percent and Argentina 10 percent, resulting in $10 billion a year in US soybean exports. Trump’s response is $8 billion in emergency aid to US farmers, announced recently at a rally in Kansas, which he refers to as the Harvest Fuel Relief Program.