Iowans Are Fed Up With Trump’s Broken Promises
- Michele Pegg, Louisa County resident:
- “I really do think he’s down a bit. I think people are frustrated with the sense that he ran on a lot of ‘America First’ stuff. ‘Hey, we’re going to take care of our people first’ — but we still have problems with water. We still have problems with soil, we still have problems with schools, we still have problems with funding schools and education.” [CNN, 1/19/26]
- Chris Mudd, Waterloo-area CEO:
- “[Trump’s] support maybe has waned a little bit [in Iowa]. There are some people who read the headlines and they have a hard time defending it.” [CNN, 1/19/26]
From Farmers to Brewers, Trump’s Trade Policies Are Devastating the Local Economy
- Kirk Leeds, Iowa Soybean Association chief executive:
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- “It is a dire time for American farmers, particularly the Midwest soybean and corn farmers. The chaos, the uncertainty — right now we have so many unknowns that there’s not a lot of clarity about where we’re going.” [The New York Times, 1/27/26]
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- “This is as challenging as I’ve seen it. We’ve got uncertainties beyond compare.” [The New York Times, 10/26/25]
- Aaron Lehman, Iowa Farmers Union president, rural Polk County:
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- “We’re losing money on every bushel we produce on our two main things that we grow…The policy leaders are not understanding the situation on the ground.” [The New York Times, 1/27/26]
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- “This chaotic tariff policy is not getting us any closer to fair trade…It’s wrong to use tariffs like we’re trying to change a lightbulb with a hammer.” [Iowa Public Radio, 1/22/26]
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- “It’s not enough to make farmers whole again for all the damage that’s been done. Our farmers would much rather gain their paycheck from a fair marketplace than from a relief package.” [KCRG, 12/9/25]
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- “Our farms, and lots of farms, are having to assess if there’s real opportunity for years down the road.” [The New York Times, 10/26/25]
- Lance Lillibridge, Vinton corn and cattle farmer:
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- “There’s going to have to be something because right now everything’s just terrible. I’ve never been so cash poor in my entire life.” [Reuters, 1/27/26],
- Steve Kuiper, Iowa Corn Growers Association president & Knoxville farmer:
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- “America’s corn farmers are struggling and often sell corn well below the cost of production. As a result, the entire Iowa economy struggles. In fact, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank just listed Iowa as 50th in terms of economic growth.” [The Des Moines Register, 1/27/26]
- Grant Kimberley, Iowa Soybean Association senior director for market development & sixth-generation farmer:
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- “This is one of the most challenging times we’ve seen in agriculture for our economy, outside of the cattle industry. The crop side of things have been really struggling for the last three years and it looks like we’re going to have another challenging year this year. We’re hopeful that down the road though, that starts to turn, but it really has been a difficult time…” [WHO 13, 1/26/26]
- Jeremy Mostek, Dubuque cattle farmer:
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- “It’s not affordable. It’s good for people that are probably been involved with it for generations, for us it’s a little tougher getting started.” [KCRG, 1/26/26]
- Mark Mueller, Iowa Corn Crowers Association president & fourth-generation northeast Iowa farmer:
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- “The bottom line is: We have high input prices, we have low commodity prices and we’re producing more corn all the time. We need more places to move our corn.” [Iowa Public Radio, 1/22/26]
- Chad Hart, Iowa State University agriculture economics professor:
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- “Even though there’s been a lot of discussion of deals with China, and we have seen some sales coming in…soybean trade is still lagging behind where it usually is.” [Wisconsin Public Radio, 1/19/26]
- Shanen Ebersole, Kellerton farmer:
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- “I don’t agree with [Trump’s plan to increase low-tariff beef imports from Argentina] in any way, shape or form. We need to take care of the 50 states that we have.” [CNN, 1/19/26]
- Royce Peterson, Altoona carpenter:
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- “With the new tax law Republican lawmakers passed earlier this year, wealthy folks with the right connections will pocket thousands, sometimes millions, in refunds. While we’re scraping together cash to replace a busted drill, top executives could write off yachts. That’s not just unfair, it’s insulting.” [Des Moines Register (Opinion), 12/20/25]
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- “Then there are the tariffs. Costs have skyrocketed, supplies are delayed, and we are facing shortages of materials, including lumber, steel, and screws.” [Des Moines Register (Opinion), 12/20/25]
- Seth Watkins, Clarinda farmer:
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- “Our politicians talk about us being the backbone of our economy, and yet the people that are making these decisions have great benefits. I’d like them to put themselves in our shoes and understand what this is like.” [Iowa Capital Dispatch, 12/15/25]
- Sam Caster, Iowa City small business owner & operator:
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- “I am ordering far less Brazilian coffee because of the incredibly steep tariffs that have been levied against them. This is a real nightmare scenario…I have had to do a price increase this year.” [The Daily Iowan, 12/9/25]
- Kevin Ross, sixth-generation Iowa farmer:
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- “[I]t’s been really tight margins.” [KETV, 12/9/25]
- Diane Rohlman, University of Iowa occupational and environmental health professor:
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- “Farming has always had a lot of stressors in it and those stressors don’t go away. But lately they’ve been amplified and there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future.” [CBS 2 Iowa, 12/8/25]
- Tommy Hexter, Iowa Food System Coalition representative:
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- “It’s a Band-Aid on a much larger wound, which is chronically unstable markets for American farmers.” [KCRG, 12/8/25]
- Stu Swanson, Iowa Corn Growers Association president:
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- “Working through a reset on trade around the world is certainly nerve wracking to be part of…agriculture works better when we have some consistency.” [KCRG, 12/8/25]
- Joe Dierickx, Clinton County farmer:
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- “Those fixed costs come by every year, whether we make money in soybeans and corn or not. So that’s the point, that it’s starting to wear thin with these tariffs, ’cause there’s getting to be some stress out in the countryside.” [Our QC News, 12/6/25]
- Delaney Howell, Rhodes farmer:
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- “What that will mean, longer term, is potentially higher Chapter 12 farmer bankruptcies, farmers dipping into cash reserves or potentially having to borrow back against their operating line as they may not be able to pay off their full operating line this year.” [Our QC News, 12/6/25]
- Kris Mondonaro, Iowa City brewery executive:
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- “A lot of people buy our cans overseas, so the shipping costs and tariffs have been extraordinary, and that definitely affects everybody…It’s kind of chaotic, honestly. The tariffs keep changing, so you’re always chasing your tail — trying to find what’s available, what’s affordable, and what’s even worth brewing next.” [The Daily Iowan, 11/18/25]
- Will Farmer, Iowa City brewery production analyst:
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- “We get hit twice on those…on top of the aluminum prices themselves, every truckload of those that we buy, we actually have to pay an additional tax on top to get those across the board.” [The Daily Iowan, 11/18/25]
- Tom Hauschel, Carlisle-area CEO:
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- “[I]t’s the most stressful year we’ve had in the entire history of the cooperative…The pressure started at the farm gate, and now we’re feeling it at the retail level, and it’s going to be extremely difficult year. We need a long-term plan so that we can build this business and maintain our interests of our farm community that we serve. And today, we don’t have a long-term plan, and we’re feeling the effects of it.” [Iowa Capital Dispatch, 11/4/25]
- Vernon Flinn, Des Moines-area farmer:
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- “[T]here’s not a farmer that I’ve ever spoke to that would like to have the money come from the government…I think part of the problem we’re facing is brought on by the government. So I think the government’s got an obligation to help, maybe, bail guys out of it. I mean, with prices we’re facing today, with expenses if we’re looking out for planting a crop…yeah, there’s going to have to be help.” [Iowa Capital Dispatch, 11/4/25]
- Pete Burleen, Iowa farmer:
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- “I thought the whole point of tariffs was to bring production back home, and now he is trying to do something to destroy that production. It feels like being a pawn in a game we’re not going to win….We’re being used and abused as producers.” [CBS News, 10/27/25]
- Larry Ory, Earlham farmer:
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- “Who are you subsidizing, our competitors or us?” [The New York Times, 10/26/25]
- Summer Ory, Earlham farmer:
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- “Right now, we’re fighting different economic wars all at once. You can sustain it one at a time, but right now it’s death by a thousand paper cuts…Everywhere you turn, people are asking, ‘How are you going to make it?’” [The New York Times, 10/26/25]
- Matt Wyatt, Hudson farmer:
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- “Money is tighter than it should be…We would much rather farm with no federal assistance whatsoever. We want to be able to sell our products for a good value, and normally we can.” [The New York Times, 10/26/25]
- April Hemmes, Hampton-area farmer:
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- “I tell everybody, it’s everything, everywhere, all at once. Our input — the cost to put this crop in the ground — is going up, and our prices are not. … We just have a lot going on all at once…My nitrogen cost went up 30 percent this year…It makes it hard with these markets. It’s hard to sell a commodity when you know you’re going to lose money. You put it in the bin and cross your fingers.” [The Gazette, 9/22/25]
- John Gilbert, Hardin County farmer:
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- “Stop and think about all the ramifications. … I would like to see Congress grow a spine and take back their authority.” [The Gazette, 9/22/25]
Trump’s Mass Deportations Are Hurting Iowa Farmers
- Peter Orazem, Iowa State University economics professor:
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- “You’re getting squeezed on the demand side and getting squeezed on the supply side. That doesn’t bode well for firm profit.” [The New York Times, 1/27/26]
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- “It’s not costless to replace that number of workers…[it is] difficult to find domestic workers who take these jobs.” [The New York Times, 10/26/25]
Trump and Republicans Are Raising Iowans’ Health Care Costs
- Aaron Lehman, Iowa Farmers Union president, rural Polk County:
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- “Our farmers right now are meeting with their lenders just to figure out how to get next year’s crop in the ground. The last thing we need right now is an increase in health care costs.” [KIOW, 12/15/25]
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- “We have the decision to support making health care affordable in this country, and this impacts our farms, it impacts all of our rural communities. We have a decision to make about whether that investment in our farms and rural communities is worth it, and it is.” [Protect Our Care, 12/10/25]
- Matt Russel, Iowa Farmers Union executive director, Lacona:
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- “The Affordable Care Act provided a path for small businesses, entrepreneurs and farmers to pursue livelihoods that didn’t require having someone work for a job for the health insurance benefits…Remember the days when the farming family had to have an off-farm job for health insurance? Because Republicans are letting these enhanced premium tax credits expire, we are headed back in that direction.” [Iowa Capital Dispatch, 12/15/25]
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- “This is a gut punch to working families. Raising health insurance premiums by thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — of dollars doesn’t fix what’s broken in health care. It just shifts the cost onto families and small businesses…This isn’t just a farmer problem. It’s a problem for millions of Americans who don’t have employer-based insurance. But farmers are right in the middle of it — and the cost is very real.” [Progressive Farmer, 12/15/25]
- Seth Watkins, Clarinda farmer:
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- “I really want people to understand, it’s not markets or weather that will put me as a farmer out of business. It’s a catastrophic health issue.” [Progressive Farmer, 12/15/25]
- Beth Hoffman, Lovilia farmer:
- “If we make $84,999, we get the credit. If we make $85,000, we literally fall off this cliff. A $300-a-month premium turns into owing roughly $16,000 retroactively…We decided to stay with really pretty crappy insurance, because if we upgrade and make a little more money, suddenly we’re talking about paying $20,000 a year.” [Progressive Farmer, 12/15/25]