The ‘Flim Flam’ Man is Farming Another Scam
American farmers are hurting. But farmers have political power if they choose to use it
Hands off the man, flim flam man.
He’s the one in the Trojan horse making out like he’s Santa Claus.
Oh lord, the man’s a fraud, he’s a flim flam man. He’s a fox, he’s a flim flam man
- Laura Nyro, “Flim Flam Man,” 1967
Why do people keep believing Donald Trump?
He promises what he can’t deliver, then lies about the real outcomes of his promises.
Trump continues to claim “the best economy we’ve ever had,” as he recently told Fox News. Yes, there are some Trump successes, but facts say the country mostly is headed in the wrong direction. The U.S. economy lost jobs in June, the first decline since 2020, the last time Trump was in office. Long-term unemployment continues to grow. Inflation - including grocery prices - are up.
But Trump continues to say otherwise. He uses what every flim flam man needs to succeed - a reason for people to believe him even in the face of obvious lies. Fear is a powerful motivator, as every scam artist knows. Position every immigrant as a villain and Trump keeps his hold on those he scams.
Of course, fear isn’t the only tool in the film flam man’s tool box. There is the promise of great things to come. And to make that promise viable, he salts it with a bit of fool’s gold.
That has been his approach with America’s farmers, and it’s a scam on replay. In 2018, Trump told farmers that other countries will cave to U.S. tariffs. “They don’t want to have those tariffs put on them — they’re all coming to see us — and the farmers will be the biggest beneficiary. We’re opening up markets. You watch what’s going to happen,” he said seven years ago.
You know what happened? Trump bailed out wealthy farmers to the tune of $30 billion. Meanwhile, China, which in the past had accounted for at least 25% of U.S. soybean purchases and in some years up to 60%, has no contracts to buy from American farmers in 2025. None. And it’s not just soybeans. Total U.S. farm exports to China were down 53% in the first seven months of this year.
To be sure, there are many reasons for today’s struggling farm economy, including years of bad weather and rising costs for everything from fertilizer to equipment. The inescapable fact, though, is that Trump’s tariffs have made a tough farm economy a generational crisis.
When Trump first took office, soybean exports by Brazil and the U.S. were about equal in value. Today, Brazil exports twice the value of soybeans and the gap is growing.
Argentina is a growing competitor to U.S. soybean farmers. Does Trump protect the interests of U.S. farmers? Not when those interests compete with a billionaire friend of the Administration. Trump is sending $20 billion to Argentina, allowing that country to stay afloat while reducing its export fees on soybeans. If Argentina defaults on its massive outstanding loans, a friend of Trump’s Treasury Secretary would lose a lot of money. He wouldn’t lose the farm, as the saying goes, but a loss is a loss, even for billionaires.
Others may lose actually their farms. But, the flim flam man always has another trick up his sleeve. Trump is promising to use tariff revenue to bail out farmers this year. Of course, Trump also has promised to use tariff revenue to replace income taxes, pay off the federal debt and for a host of other big-ticket items. That’s heavy lifting for a tax that generates less than 3% of total federal revenue, even with the new money coming from tariffs. And Trump’s protests notwithstanding, most tariffs are paid by consumers.
Even more bailouts, though, may not be enough to keep farmers on the land after this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that U.S. farm debt is expected to reach $561.8 billion by the end of this year, a significant increase over 2024. And, if past is prologue, most of Trump’s subsidies will go to the largest, wealthiest farm operations.
The efficiency of the American farmer is one of this country’s greatest success stories. U.S. households spend less of their income on food - especially food at home - than any other country. Food-at-home fell from 5% of income to 4.9% between 2023 and 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in spite of inflation. At-home food consumed more than twice the share of household income in the 1960s than it does today.
Tariffs will be the death knell for many American farmers. Trump will delay the funeral with a bailout funded by American taxpayers, but subsidies are the equivalent of hospice care. Trump is writing the eulogy for many farmers with his economic policies.
The greatest tragedy is that farmers have it within their power to change the policies that are hurting them the most. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to govern tariffs, but Republicans have ceded that power to the White House.
Take a look at farm country. It’s mostly Republican. In Minnesota, the four congressional districts outside of the metro area are all Republican, including the Sixth District where Rep. Tom Emmer, an influential member of the GOP House leadership, holds sway.
Farmers have the power to force Congress to do its job, not by allowing Trump to scam rural voters with one-time subsidies, but by demanding that Republicans end the damaging tariffs, pass an effective farm bill and assure that federal policies affecting immigration, energy, health care and disaster assistance reflect the best interests of Americans, not the politics of Donald Trump.
It’s likely that Trump’s policies have cost American farmers some foreign markets for a long time, perhaps forever. Still, the world needs what U.S. farmers produce. Thoughtful policies that invest in the future of the U.S. could create new markets, giving farmers the economic independence they seek.
Farmers and rural America have the opportunity to make a promise of their own: If Republicans in Congress don’t find the backbone to stand up to the flim flam man in the White House, they will be replaced, by other Republicans with integrity or, if needed, by Democrats or independents who believe in farmers as much as farmers believe in themselves.
His mind is up his sleeve and his talk is make believe.
Oh lord, the man’s a fraud, he’s flim flam man.
- Laura Nyro
I came of age during the 1980s farm crisis and in my first newspaper job reported on the fallout in southern Idaho. One thing that'll happen, probably, is further consolidation of ownership. That consolidation includes investors who have no connection to the communities, such as Secy. Bessent. They can afford to buy with cash and wait out the downturn. This will further hollow out rural areas and continue to turn them into landowners and contract farmers. And contract farmers are increasingly very large operations with millions of dollars of equipment who move around the country as needed.
Tommy Boy, unfortunately there is no antidote for TDS. Did you get a chance to hear the comments from Senator Josh Hawley today during a senate sub-committee meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi?