Trump Shrugs Off Major Beef Backlash: ‘That’s What People Want’

President Donald Trump brushed off major pushback from ranchers and fellow Republicans over his decision to ease tariffs on certain beef imports on Friday, insisting the move is “what people want.”

Early Friday morning, the president posted to Truth Social:

Today, I concluded a deal to substantially lower the price of ground beef for working American families. As everyone knows, under President Biden, beef prices soared at their fastest rate and the American beef herd fell to its smallest size in modern history. As we work to rebuild this herd and help our ranchers, for the next 90 days, the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff. We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices. This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

The announcement didn’t sit well with many, including Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), who warned “this will further harm” American ranchers, “most of whom are MAGA Republicans.”

Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and Steve Daines (R-MT) and Reps. Mike Flood (R-NE), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Troy Downing (R-MT) also took to X to critique Trump’s deal, emphasizing that their own constituents will bear the burden of this new arrangement.

Speaking to reporters on Friday on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, Trump stressed, “We wanna get the beef prices down, so we’ll get ’em down a little bit, and, uh, that’s what people want. That’s what the voters want, and that’s what I want.”

He continued, “The ranchers are great. They’re my people. I love the ranchers. They’ve done a fantastic job, but they admit that we need a little help in order to get the prices down.”

However, in a statement cited by Politico, Justin Tupper, president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association, disputed that assertion, explaining, “You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last.”

When asked which countries he made the reduced tariffs deal with, Trump responded, “I don’t wanna say,” but promised “the highest quality beef.”

Watch above via Fox News.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!