The TV network that helped bring us The Apprentice and Donald Trump has decided to travel to Trump country — northern Michigan - to interview your typical Republican farmer who believes that Republicans always help farmers, but she’s having a hard time squaring that assessment with the federal budget freeze at the USDA. Our intrepid farmer, Rachel Carlson, has faced rising costs for such things as fuel and fertilizer, and bad weather destroyed her cherry crop last year. She has applied for a grant under the USDA to hire a bunch of seasonal workers from Guatemala (grant is worth $400,000). But, well, you know old Musk and Trump froze all that money, and Carlson may face bankruptcy if the money isn’t released.
My old knee jerk, bleeding heart doesn’t seem to be working right now.
“I’ll admit to you, I bleed Republican. However, this has left a sour taste in my mouth,” Carlson said. “During Trump’s first administration, a lot of farmers — not all, but a lot of farmers — saw the positive side to his tariffs and to his agricultural dealings."
"Now, we’re not seeing that," she said. "Now, we’re seeing the actual opposite.”
Uh huh.
“It’s kind of like have the rug pulled out from underneath you,” Marsh said.
I’d say you won’t be alone Ms. Carlson. But it’s kind of hard to cry a river for poor Ms. Carlson.
The program to bring over the foreign workers hasn’t been cheap or easy, but she saw it as the only way to boost her workforce.
“The American worker doesn’t like labor, they don’t like to do laborious jobs,” Carlson said. “They don’t want to do the hard labor, and that’s what’s frustrating, because we would love to hire U.S. workers, but we can’t get them to show up. We can’t get them to follow through. We can’t get them to finish the season.”
Nice contemptuous attitude you have there Carlson. Maybe if you fuckin’ PAID A LIVING WAGE to your farm workers, you might have some American workers to stick through the season. Sure sounds like she’s been having regular lunches with Vivek Ramaswamy about American workers.
As time goes on, I suspect the legacy media will be going on more safaris to Trumpland in search of MAGA voters and ask how they feel about their orange God now. My prediction is that most of those interviews will be like Carlson’s. The old, “I’m a little disappointed in Trump, but by God, I’m never going to admit to being stupid!” Besides, they always will have some Democrat to blame for their problems.
Still it will be some fun for the rest of us.
