Chump can't stop harming the US economy. Thomas Kent (MONEYWISE) reports:
President Donald Trump says his plan to bring hundreds of thousands of tons of foreign beef into the U.S. will help bring down record-high prices.
But some American ranchers say they’re the ones being put through the grinder.
[. . .]
American ranchers aren’t disputing that beef is expensive. The disagreement is over how to fix it.
The concern is that importing more cheap beef puts downward pressure on the prices ranchers receive for their cattle just as the country needs them to spend money expanding their herds.
Kansas Farm Bureau president and cattle rancher Glenn Brunkow told Axios that cattle prices fell after Trump announced the policy.
“Every time the president makes a statement like that, that takes money out of our pockets,” Brunkow said.
Kansas State University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor warned that recent policy developments and the discussion surrounding them could “delay and slow herd expansion efforts,” which would reduce future U.S. beef production.
Producing more beef isn’t like increasing production at a factory. Rebuilding cattle herds takes years — beef cows take about two years to reach maturity and proper weight, depending on their feed — and ranchers need enough financial incentive to retain breeding animals rather than sell them.
If imports help suppress cattle prices today but make producers less willing or able to expand their herds, the U.S. could remain dependent on constrained domestic supplies for longer.
Meanwhile MONEYWISE's Brian O’Connell reports:
U.S. diesel prices have risen above $6.50 nationally, with some areas reporting $7 a gallon and $1,000 for a tractor fill-up. That’s up $2.90 from 2024. Now, higher fuel costs threaten to wipe out profit margins on crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat.
The immediate future isn’t looking bright, either. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that national farming-related fuel and oil costs will rise by 28.8% this year. That’s driving down farm profits, with the USDA estimating that net farm income is pegged to fall 2.6% in nominal terms and 5.5% after inflation in 2026.
“This is a national farm crisis for farmers,” John Boyd, Jr., a fourth-generation Virginia farmer and founder of the National Black Farmers Association, told NPR’s Morning Edition. “I’m having to come up with money that’s really not in the budget.”
Boyd noted it cost him around $1,000 the last time he fueled his combines and other heavy farm equipment with diesel, and that cost is taking a toll on his farm’s bottom line.
“I’m paying $7 a gallon for diesel fuel, almost double what I was paying last year at this time,” he told NPR. “America’s farmers are tough. But we’re not going to make it like this…”
Diesel? Ben Thompson (SUPERCAR BLONDIE) notes:
Trucker Charlie Firth was left in shock after seeing how much it was costing him to fill up his truck at a Florida gas station.
Even without filling it up completely, the final price was north of $1,000.
That is something truly extraordinary.
Chump is out of his element, he's unfit to be a leader. He's a small time grifter who can get attention by bullying and has his entire life. But he can't lead. And he lacks the ability to listen to others because he's always convinced he knows best. He doesn't. He never has.
He has damaged -- if not destroyed -- so many industries in the US. And the beef industry's taking multiple hits from Chump. Billal Rahman (NEWSWEEK) notes:
Cattle industry groups are warning that immigration enforcement operations across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas are disrupting the beef supply chain, delaying shipments of thousands of cattle, and generating millions of dollars in losses and additional costs, even as the Department of Homeland Security told Newsweek that ICE is not conducting worksite operations in Kansas.
The Kansas Livestock Association, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and Texas Cattle Feeders Association said in a joint statement on September 24 that they were “closely monitoring” reported ICE activity affecting agricultural communities in the three states, warning that the enforcement activity was disrupting the livestock industry.
The groups said thousands of fed cattle that had been scheduled for shipment to processors were delayed, resulting in “millions of dollars in lost revenue and additional costs.” They also reported workforce disruptions at feedyards, dairies, processors, feed and grain companies, transportation hubs and community services.
“These ICE operations are having a massive chilling effect on the legal, documented, skilled workers that put beef on the table and keep the cattle supply chain moving,” the associations said. They warned that the disruptions would lead to higher beef prices for consumers.
Chump's war on immigrants impacts the economy and has all along. His tariffs, his war on immigrants and his war on Iran have destroyed the US economy.
Kaitlyn Buss (DETROIT NEWS) writes, "Republican candidates heading into the November midterms should feel some relief. For the first time in a long time, they have the justification to clearly break from President Donald Trump on issues with which they disagree." Maybe.
Maybe not.
Last week, US House Rep Maria Elvira Salazar moved away from Chump. A little.
From the September 18th snapshot:
A little space. Tiny. And it got even smaller as last weekend progressed. In fact, by Sunday, Salazar was on a public affairs program. She appeared on CBS' FACE THE NATION:
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about something you put out there this week. You have been speaking for months about your concerns regarding President Trump's immigration policies. But in this ad you put out, you're more direct. You said, the same Hispanics who helped Trump get to the White House in 2024, feel betrayed. His enforcement efforts have gone too far, and half of the 50,000 people detained in July had no criminal record. You spoke to the president after this. Did he take any of your…
REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR: Yes, I did.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Did he take any of your advice?
REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR: Listen, it was a very good conversation. He was a gentleman, very courteous, very receptive. And I told him exactly what you just repeated: "Sir, you have this – this moment in history where you can keep the pot of gold that you brought to the GOP in 2024. No other president" – and you know I covered for 35 years Spanish television. "No other president was able to convince the – the Hispanics to vote 55 points for a GOP president. Please preserve that fortune that you have brought to the party." Why? Because we need to continue winning elections, because we have this very big threat called the socialists on the Democratic side. And if you want me, we can talk about that later. I belong to the Miami community. I'm the daughter of political refugees. I'm first-generation American, and I want to preserve the American values that are entrenched in the GOP…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR: … and that the Hispanics share. "So, remember, sir, that you are the only guy who can do this." And that – and then we had a fantastic conversation. I certainly hope he listened to what I was saying. But he listened.
Fantastic conversation, Salazar gushed, "he listened"!!!
Was she still gushing today?
Evan Gorelick and Tim Balk (NEW YORK TIMES) report:
President Trump on Saturday amplified online comments critical of Representative María Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican who earlier this month released an ad directly rebuking his immigration crackdown.
Mr. Trump reposted on social media screenshots of more than a dozen comments from other accounts that criticized Ms. Salazar, who is up for re-election in November. One of the comments urged Mr. Trump to rescind his endorsement of her, and another said she ought to be replaced with “a NEW Republican.”
The comments were reactions to a post on X sharing a Washington Post report about Latino voters in Ms. Salazar’s district who took issue with Ms. Salazar’s ad and continue to support Mr. Trump.
Ms. Salazar’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
I know what Salazar's comment would be: "But he listened!!!!"
She humiliated herself bragging on his last Sunday and he's ripping her apart.
Ben Johansen and Ali Bianco (POLITICO) report:
President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated his criticism of Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), amplifying a series of social media posts attacking the Florida Republican and, in multiple instances, calling for her replacement ahead of her election in just over a month.
Trump reposted more than a dozen messages criticizing Salazar on Truth Social, the president’s social media platform, including one user’s post that read: “So we need a NEW Republican to Replace Salazar.” Several Trump loyalists, including Laura Loomer, have for months called on the president to abandon his endorsement of her.
[. . .]
The posts mark the sharpest break yet between Trump and Salazar, whom he gave his “Complete and Total Endorsement” for reelection as recently as August for doing a “truly fantastic job” representing Florida’s 27th Congressional District.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Alex Padilla's office:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced new legislation to clarify existing requirements for immigration arrests and codify statutory procedures to prevent unlawful arrests and detentions.
Immigration enforcement officers under this Administration have arbitrarily arrested U.S. citizens and immigrants with lawful status, including George Retes, Javier Ramirez, Andrea Velez, Wilmer Chavarria, and Dayanne Figueroa.
“Republicans continued to write blank checks to ICE and CBP while serious concerns remain about officer and agent training, accountability, and the treatment of U.S. citizens,” said Senator Padilla. “Every person in America has civil rights — in spite of this Administration’s total disregard for the Constitution. This bill would establish stronger accountability and oversight, restore due process, and ensure federal immigration enforcement respects the rights and safety of Americans and noncitizens alike.”
“The disturbing reality today is that many American citizens and immigrants with lawful status have been caught in the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and violent immigration enforcement dragnet across the country,” said Senator Durbin. “As Justice Sotomayor stated in her dissent in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, referring to immigration agents: ‘United States citizens are … being seized, taken from their jobs, and prevented from working to support themselves and their families.’ This must stop. The Immigration Warrant Reform Act will help prevent these due process violations while ensuring noncitizens who present a threat to public safety are not released. It is commonsense, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.”
In a concurrence in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, Justice Kavanaugh relied on these gaps in immigration laws to find that immigration officers and agents may makestops based solely on apparent race and ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent,and presence at certain worksites, even if U.S. citizens get caught in the administration’s dragnet. The Trump Administration has gone beyond “stops” to arrest and even brutally attack U.S. citizens and immigrants without probable cause or a warrant for the arrest in indiscriminate enforcement actions. The Trump Administration has further interpreted immigrationlaws to require immigration judges to deny bond to any noncitizen who entered the United States withoutinspection, regardless of how long they have been in the country, and severely limit theopportunities for an immigration judge to release noncitizens on bond.
Specifically, this legislation would bring immigration enforcement procedures in line with the standards that all law enforcement have to follow:
- Codifying specific criteria for warrantless civil immigration arrests in the interior of the United States:
- To limit the circumstances for warrantless arrest to those where a noncitizen presents an imminent danger to the community requiring immediate arrest, and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained; and
- To require a bond hearing within 24 hours of any warrantless arrest to determine whether the conditions above were met, and release the individual if they do not present a danger to the community;
- Codifying in statute criteria for obtaining an administrative warrant to arrest a noncitizen for civil immigration enforcement purposes, including by requiring immigration officers to:
- Document probable cause of an individual’s inadmissibility and removability under the Immigration and Nationality Act; and
- Obtain approval for an administrative warrant from a supervisory immigration officer;
- Codifying in statute the requirement for periodic hearings in front of an immigration judge or federal judge for detained noncitizens; and
- Clarifying that mandatory detention provisions applicable at the border should not apply to immigrants in the interior of the United States.
These changes would not allow for release of noncitizens who present a threat to public safety.
In addition to Padilla and Durbin, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
Senator Padilla has been a leading voice in opposition to President Trump’s cruel and indiscriminate mass deportation agenda. Last month, Padilla demanded the Trump Administration abandon its reckless plan to equip ICE officers with gloves that deliver painful electric shocks. Last year, Padilla led 45 Congressional Democrats in urging DHS offices launch an investigation into the Department’s stops, arrests, detentions, and deportations of U.S. citizens.
Full text of the bill is available here.
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The following sites updated:
