CHIPPEWA FALLS – His job approval is at an all-time low. The conflict with Iran still isn’t resolved. It was even pouring rain.
But President Donald Trump was unflappable in Chippewa Falls on Friday as he gathered more than 1,000 supporters into a massive pole barn 10 miles north of Eau Claire for an hour-long speech and short roundtable conversation about issues facing farmers that featured an Olympic gold medal speedskater and an NFL hall of famer.
“Over the last couple of months since we went in for the military operation, you’ve seen fertilizer go up and you’ve seen energy go up. It’s going to come down to where it was or lower. You’ll be very happy,” Trump said at an event held at Custer Farms, seeking to reassure the agriculture producers in the crowd and sitting at the table with him.
Trump was scheduled to hold a roundtable discussion about agriculture policies but also spent much of his speech on other topics, including beautification projects in Washington D.C., the employment rate of Black Americans and his administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration.
At the table were agriculture producers, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and U.S. Reps. Tom Tiffany and Derrick Van Orden; NFL hall of famer Joe Thomas, who now operates Hall of Fame Farms in Muscoda; Jake Leinenkugel of Leinenkugel Brewery and Olympic gold medal speedskater Jordan Stolz of West Bend, who at one point during the event awarded Trump with one of his gold medals.
“I can tell you one thing. His leg is like a rock,” Trump quipped about Stolz, who thanked farmers for producing the beef and milk he consumes to better compete but did not present any other obvious ties to farming.
Trump’s June 5 visit was his first to the Badger State since he won here nearly two years ago, stopping in the 3rd Congressional District, one of the nation’s few battlegrounds that covers areas of western Wisconsin and is represented by Van Orden.
The visit comes at a time when the president’s tariffs and recent attacks on Iran have produced gale-force headwinds for Republicans in their effort to preserve their power in Congress and in state government in Wisconsin. But Trump won the swing district in 2024 by seven points and hopes voters here haven’t changed their mind about him − or his party.
“We’ve had great success here in Wisconsin and we brought a lot of business to Wisconsin,” Trump said. “I love the place. And hopefully you’re going to be voting Republican because frankly, Republican is, I call it, the sane way to go. It’s the sane way because what I’m seeing from the Democrats, they’re going to have some problems.”
“If they win, this country is finished. We’re in trouble. So, I hate to say that you have no choice, but I don’t think you have much of a choice.”
Hundreds gather in the mud and rain to see Trump
Hundreds of people gathered in the middle of Wisconsin farm fields to get a glimpse of the president. As rain poured loudly on the barn roof that gave the roundtable event shelter, the attendees cheered and farm owner Ken Custer called the downpour “a blessing.”
Though Trump was not holding one of his signature rallies, the supporters came decked out − wearing everything from Trump-branded shoes, glittery Trump jackets. And this time, supporters wore a mix of “Make America Great Again” hats and hats that promoted “Vance 2028.”
Those who were unable to get tickets to attend the event inside the barn waited outside in the mud and the rain.
Democrats have blasted Trump as a hypocrite for visiting Wisconsin to promote his agriculture policies as his trade policies continue to squeeze Wisconsin’s agriculture industry and the conflict in Iran has raised made diesel gas prices and fertilizer costs.
Soybean farmers, especially, were hit hard in 2025 by China’s decision to purchase fewer beans from American farmers after a months-long standoff over Trump’s tariffs.
“Just yesterday, Congressman Tiffany and Van Orden voted to green light Donald Trump’s war in Iran that is jacking up the cost of just about everything in our rural communities,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin told reporters ahead of Trump’s visit.
“Wisconsin is a rural state, and the small communities across it define us, and right now they are staring down tough times with increased costs and a full blown health crisis,” she said, referring to votes by Van Orden and Tiffany to voting for legislation that included spending cuts on Medicaid and Medicare.
Missy Hughes, a Democratic candidate for governor and former Organic Valley dairy co-op executive, joined protesters gathered at the airport in Eau Claire. She said Trump’s policies were “devastating” dairy farmers she used to work with at Organic Valley.
“We have him 100% to blame for that,” she said.
But Republicans weren’t avoiding talking about the hardship on Friday.
“We’re going to bring everything down − these costs down − and make sure that America is going to be great again, and we’re going to be financially prosperous and that is why President Donald J Trump is here today,” Van Orden told the crowd ahead of the event.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins sought to reassure farmers: “You have to know that we understand the extraordinary challenges that we are facing out in rural America.”
“But I also want you to know that no one will work harder, no one will fight harder, and no one will … will have your back more than President Donald Trump,” she said.
Tiffany, who is running for governor and endorsed by Trump, did not take questions from reporters but during the roundtable thanked Trump for signing a bill that promoted serving whole milk in schools, reversing an Obama-era rule limiting milk options in schools to low-fat and fat-free options.
Thomas, a Wagyu beef cattle farmer and former offensive tackle who grew up in Brookfield and played for the UW Badgers in the early 2000s, thanked the Trump administration for efforts to make distribution easier for small beef producers like Thomas’ farm.
A nationwide Marquette University Law School poll released two days before Trump’s visit to western Wisconsin found his approval rating dropped to 38%, the lowest point so far in his second term.
At the same time, Trump’s influence remains strong among Republican voters – 71% said they would vote for a 2026 primary candidate endorsed by Trump, the poll found.
Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming said the party’s message to farmers is to stick with Trump through good times and bad.
“The President’s been clear … it’s not always easy times, but if you’re going to get to where he wants to go, and where the ag community wants to go, which is lower prices and consistent pricing, it’s important to go through what we’re going through right now,” Schimming told the Journal Sentinel at Custer Farms.
“He’s done playing hostage to foreign nations that are hostile to us and control energy prices. So unless we go through what we’re going through right now, you know, we’re not going to get the permanent fix, but we will get the permanent fix.”
“Farmers know they have a friend in Donald Trump, but we get through this patch,” Schimming said.
Van Orden has won the district twice, defeating Cooke 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. In Wisconsin, liberals won a seat on the state Supreme Court in April by a stunning 20-point margin.
Even so, political observers say Republicans see Trump as a way to boost needed turnout in tight races.
“You would usually think in a midterm that the president’s party hugging the president wouldn’t make any sense because they’d want to create some distance,” Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball political newsletter at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said in an interview.
“But … there’s a widespread belief amongst Republicans that they’re better off hugging the president because they’re basically trying to generate as much Republican turnout as they can.”
Molly Beck and Laura Schulte can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com and leschulte@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Unflappable in face of headwinds, Trump draws loyal Wisconsin crowd
Reporting by Molly Beck and Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Molly Beck and Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
