Trump hosted farmers at the White House Rose Garden dinner for trade success
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FIRST ON FOX: Donald Trump will host farmers, ranchers, cattlemen and agricultural producers from across the country at a dinner at the White House on Thursday, a White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital, as the administration looks to highlight an industry that has long been a mainstay of the US economy and the president’s political base.
The Rose Garden deal comes as the White House seeks to highlight Trump’s America First trade agenda, which officials say creates new opportunities for US farmers through expanded market access and reduced trade barriers.
The event underscores the administration’s effort to strengthen ties with rural America while making the case that Trump’s trade, tax and regulatory policies are bringing tangible benefits to farmers. It also underscores how important these economic issues are to voters in the 2026 midterm elections.
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Trump’s White House dinner for farmers comes as the administration talks about trade benefits, tax relief and other policies that affect rural America. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Thursday’s meeting coincides with the first day of the Great American State Fair, which begins at the National Mall in the week marking the 25th anniversary of independence.
The dinner also follows several recent agriculture-focused events involving the president, including remarks at National Agriculture Week at the White House in March, a visit with farmers in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, earlier this month and a roundtable discussion with producers and Cabinet officials in December.
Attendees are expected to include farmers from more than a dozen states, as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service Administrator Mehmet Oz and legislators from major agricultural states.
“President Trump is proud to welcome American farmers from across the country to the White House on Thursday,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital. “There is no bigger attacker for America’s farmers, ranchers and ranchers than President Trump.”
Thursday’s dinner menu will feature fresh produce from the White House Kitchen Garden and honey from the White House Beehive, according to a Trump official.
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Farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers from across the country are expected to attend a White House dinner hosted by President Donald Trump on Thursday. (Stock)
Agriculture has long been an important part of the US economy and a leading exporter, farmers rely on foreign markets to buy everything from grains and oil seeds to meat and dairy products. Access to those markets often plays a major role in determining farm profits, making trade policy a major issue for producers and rural communities.
The White House says Trump’s trade policies have expanded access to more than 2 billion consumers around the world, with countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, India, Taiwan, Vietnam and many others reducing or eliminating tariffs on US agricultural exports.
Administration officials say food and agriculture sales will increase by double digits by 2025.
The administration also highlighted $12 billion in bridge payments to farmers during the trade negotiations, saying the aid helped agricultural producers deal with the transition as new trade agreements were made.
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In addition to trade, the administration emphasized tax policies designed to help rural communities and family farms.
America’s cattlemen have faced one challenge after another, from markets to extreme weather. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
White House officials say the president’s package of Working Families Tax Cuts allows producers to make full use of farm equipment and buildings, expands the deduction tied to rural economic activity and increases the federal estate tax and gift tax to $15 million.
The estate tax issue has long been at the forefront of many farm organizations, which say an estate tax would make it difficult for family farms to pass from one generation to the next without selling acreage or other assets.
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For the White House, Thursday’s dinner is as much about policy as politics. Rural counties were a key part of Trump’s electoral coalition and administration officials have been pointing to trade, tax and regulatory reforms as evidence that the president is fulfilling the promises he made to farmers and agricultural communities during his re-election campaign.
