How Trump’s Policies Are Testing Farmers’ Loyalty Ahead of Midterms

Rising diesel and fertilizer costs, coupled with President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, have made it harder for Oklahoma farmer Brent Rendel to plan future crops. Over the past few months, he says, the political mood among fellow farmers—traditionally some of the President’s most reliable supporters—has begun to shift.“From my discussions with other farmers, there is a higher level of dissatisfaction with what's going on with the [Trump] Administration,” says Rendel. “You didn't used to really see that, but now we're seeing it and hearing it.”That dissatisfaction could pose a political problem for Trump and Republicans ahead of the pivotal midterm elections. Trump won 69% of the rural vote in 2024, but an AP-KFF poll, conducted in August, found that 57% of rural voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. Among rural Republican voters, around one-quarter (27%) disapproved of his handling of the economy—and that group was "substantially less likely" than those who approved to say they were certain to vote in November.Three-quarters of rural voters described the cost of living in their communities as “fair” or “poor.” A Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted in June, had...