Trump To US Farmers: Drop Dead While I Help Argentina

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Large numbers of US farmers vaulted US President Donald Trump back into office last November with their hearts, souls, and votes. In return, he gave them market-killing tariffs and crippling inflation. He also chased their undocumented workers away. Wait, aren’t they getting a $20 billion bailout? That would be a nice idea. Perhaps the Trump administration will also restore clean energy programs that help farmers with their energy costs and land conservation efforts, too. Oh wait, that $20 billion bailout is going to Argentina….

Trump To US Farmers: Drop Dead, Argentina Is Getting Your Socialist Bailout

US farmers have been clinging to the hope that the rest of us taxpayers will bail them out from the very bad, very predictable fallout from Trump’s misbegotten trade wars, just like we did the first time he occupied the Oval Office.

That hope has been dimming by the minute ever since Trump took office in January. It dimmed even more this week after Trump’s Republican allies in the House and Senate decided to shut down the federal government, leaving nobody at home to administer such a bailout, were one to materialize.

Nobody is at home to release the Epstein files, either, but that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. Meanwhile, Argentina somehow managed to wring a $20 billion assistance commitment out of President Trump mere days before the government shutdown door slammed shut. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans for the cash drop on September 22, consisting of a currency swap and other forms of aid.

So, no relief for US farmers, but a big sigh of relief for a reported member of the Bessent friend circle. That would be hedge fund manager Rob Citrone, who reportedly stands to make bank, bigly, if Trump’s bailout stops the battered Argentine economy from bleeding out (again). Independent journalist Judd Legum has the backstory, reported on September 29:

“Bessent’s announcement had massive economic benefits for one American: billionaire hedge fund manager Rob Citrone, who has placed large bets on the future of the Argentine economy…

…Citrone has bought Argentine debt and purchased equity in numerous Argentine companies that are closely tied to the performance of the overall economy.

“Citrone, by his own account, helped make Bessent very wealthy,” Legum adds. Referring to Argentine President Javier Milei, Legum also notes that Citrone “is effectively betting on Milei’s right-wing economic program, which emphasizes deregulation and sharply reduced government spending.”

Legum also reported that Citrone added to his existing stash of Argentine bonds just a few days before Bessent announced the bailout. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

A $20 Billion Friend In Need Is Friend Indeed

Gosh, those Milei policies sure sound familiar. Cutting the US agriculture industry off from federal clean energy assistance while deregulating other industries that pollute soil, air, and water sounds like something the US electorate can really get behind.

If you have any thoughts about that, drop a note in the comment thread. Meanwhile, Trump left US farmers holding the tariff bag while their counterparts in Argentina have been swamping the Chinese market with soybeans, laughing all the way to the bank.

So, what’s a US farmer to do? Finding your representatives in Congress and letting them know what you think about the Argentina bailout would be a good place to start. If you need some messaging tips, members of Congress on the Democratic side of the aisle have some suggestions.

“Immediately following your Administration’s announcement regarding potential U.S. financial support for Argentina, Argentina suspended export taxes on soybeans, corn, wheat, and other agricultural commodities. Argentina’s policy change had immediate consequences for American farmers,” reads a letter to the president, penned by a group of Democratic representatives.

“Argentine agricultural products are now significantly more competitive on global markets, and Chinese buyers have reportedly purchased up to 40 cargoes of soybeans from Argentina in just one week,” the letter continues.

Okay, that’s a bit wonky. How about using just this one line:

“Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, is notably one of your close personal friends and ideological allies and faces a crucial midterm election on October 26.”

“Instead of subsidizing a foreign country to influence a midterm election on behalf of your friend — and further undermining America’s farmers in the process — you should prioritize lowering costs for American families and strengthening the nation’s agricultural competitiveness,” the letter concludes.

What’s A US Farmer To Do?

Yes, I know. Another day, another sternly worded letter. Whether or not it falls into the black hole of memory lane like so many others is up to the US electorate, though. After all, sternly worded letters from Congress are not one-way streets. They are messaging tools intended to reach a broad swath of the voting public regardless of political affiliation, potentially leading to action steps such as sharing one’s thoughts with one’s representatives in Congress, or canvassing for votes, or attending a rally, or contributing to a candidate or a PAC or whatever it is people do to participate in a democracy.

Will US farmers protest the Argentina bailout in the streets, like the farmers protest in France? Maybe! In the meantime, President Trump has teased the idea of placating farmers with a cut of the tariff take, meaning that all US taxpayers — including farmers — will be on the hook for the cost.

Perhaps the tariff money would be better spent restoring federal programs that help US farmers invest in money-saving wind and solar projects that shield their businesses from energy commodities price spikes. In August, for example, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins summarily cut wind and solar energy out of two federal loan programs. Rollins did that with one swipe of her pen, so why can’t she swipe it back on again?

Last year, the USDA also teamed up with the Energy Department’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) office to coordinate plans for expanding farmland conservation programs in tandem with dual use agrivoltaic practices that enable farmers to squeeze extra out of their land for solar development while continuing to farm the same property (see more agrivoltaic background here).

That would be helpful, but dream on, Klingon. US farmers will have to do without because President Trump is too busy re-litigating the weirdly sexual lightbulb wars of the early 2000’s. In a newly announced round of funding clawbacks aimed exclusively (and illegally, for what it’s worth) at blue states, Trump aimed a $2.5 billion cut at EERE, which he claimed is “responsible for outlandish regulations that drive up costs for American families, like banning gas stoves and incandescent light bulbs.”

Oh, lordy. Where to begin….

Image (cropped) by Tom Hickey and Al Hicks, via the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.