MADISON – “One hell of a physical specimen.”
“His leg is like a rock.”
Those were some of the compliments President Donald Trump delivered to the Wisconsin all-star athletes who joined him June 5 in Chippewa Falls for a roundtable discussion on agricultural issues.
Sprinkled into the mix of farmers and Republican members of Congress and who joined the president during his visit to Custer Farms were Wisconsin football legend and – according to Trump, “one hell of a physical specimen” – Joe Thomas, and Olympic gold medalist Jordan Stolz.
“Look at the size of this guy. Boy, oh boy. So you’re a Hall of Fame. Did anybody get by you?” Trump said of Thomas, who grew up in Brookfield and played for the Badgers in the early 2000s.
“He’s a good-looking man. It’s great to know you.”
Thomas, a Wagyu beef cattle farmer and former offensive tackle, sat between Trump and U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden at the event, the president’s first visit to the Badger State since he won here nearly two years ago.
The NFL Hall of Famer, who played 11 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, has been making the rounds throughout the state promoting his Hall of Fame Farms beef company. Thomas also attended a Green Bay Packers practice last month to promote his company.
Of Stolz, Trump said: “I forgot to touch his leg. I can tell you one thing: his leg is like a rock.”
“That’s a winner,” he said of the Kewaskum speed skater.
Stolz, who won two golds and a silver medal at the Milan Winter Olympic Games, thanked the farmers in attendance at the event. As an athlete, he said, “I try and eat as clean as possible, you know, a lot of steak a lot of dairy, and you know, you guys are the backbone of Wisconsin.”
Stolz burns as many as 5,000 calories a day on a peak training day, the Journal Sentinel has previously reported. He needs the right kind of calories to fuel his performances, with protein, complex carbs and recovery food.
“I don’t think people really understand how much you guys make a difference in the country,” Stolz said.
The president’s visit to one of the nation’s few battleground congressional districts comes at a time when his approval among Wisconsin voters is at an all-time low. Van Orden, who represents the 3rd Congressional District, was joined by U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany – the Republican candidate for governor, who represents the nearby 7th District – and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
Others at the roundtable included U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, former Leinenkugel’s Brewing Company and Trump senior official Jake Leinenkugel and Custer Farms owner Ken Custer.
Thomas, who operates his farm in Muscoda, said “one of the biggest bottlenecks in our country is the lack of small packing and processing plants for people like me that are trying to raise farm-to-table beef.” He praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently announced “Small Processors Action Plan”
Asked by the president to name the greatest quarterback he’s ever seen, Thomas said it’s a tie between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Best running back? Jim Brown or Barry Sanders.
Stolz and Thomas join the ranks of New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart as athletes whose physiques the president has recently complimented.
Dart recently introduced the president at a rally in support of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler in New York. Trump called Dart a “beautiful man” with “legs like tree trunks.”
Both the New York visit and Trump’s stop in Wisconsin’s 3rd District show the president isn’t shying away from swing districts ahead of the midterm elections. Though Lawler is a Republican, his district broke for former Vice President Kamala Harris by a one-point margin in 2024. Trump won Van Orden’s district by 7 points.
Van Orden has won the district twice, defeating his Democratic opponent by about 3 points two years ago. But the political environment this year favors Democrats, who have won governor races and special elections in other parts of the country since Trump took office.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump compliments physiques of Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas and Jordan Stolz
Reporting by Jessie Opoien, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jessie Opoien, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
