President Donald Trump says the results of the upcoming midterm elections could determine the success of an effort to strengthen work requirements in the farm bill.
In an exclusive interview with Agri-Pulse, Trump said the effort is short on support, and he wants to wait for the best deal possible.
“I'd love to get the work requirements if we could. Farmers want it. I want it. It's the right thing to do,” he said. “You're going to have a farm bill. But to get it right, I need more time … because we don't have enough votes.”
“If we don't get more people in, I can't tell you that we're going to do work requirements, which I'd like to be able to do,” Trump added.
Trump, who spoke Saturday at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, also said he’s holding out for a better deal with China, something he plans to discuss with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The interview can be seen in full here.
Trump, the first president to appear at the National FFA Convention since George H.W. Bush in 1991, also delivered remarks to FFA members for over an hour. The event was intended as a non-political speech, but Trump did address the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, invited a pair of Indiana congressmen to the stage, and offered commentary on the heritage of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
While the speech did veer into territory far from the realms of farm policy, Trump also touted his administration’s efforts on regulatory reform, expanding markets for farm exports, and an array of other areas. He told Agri-Pulse the students gathered to hear him speak “are picking a great profession,” and in his speech encouraged them to uphold the values mentioned in the organization’s creed.
“America’s future depends on young leaders like you who are proud of who you are, proud of where they come from, proud of the American values we all hold dear,” he said.
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