Kasich: Trump using ‘farm welfare’ instead of ending tariffs

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) said Wednesday that President Trump is resorting to “farm welfare” when what U.S. farmers really want the administration to stop imposing tariffs. 

Kasich, a frequent Trump critic, made the comments to The Associated Press just a day after the Trump administration announced it would offer upward of $12 billion in emergency relief to U.S. farmers, the group hit hardest by retaliatory tariffs from the administration’s protracted trade battle.

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Kasich, who ran for president in 2016 and has not ruled out a 2020 bid, called it “completely absurd” for Trump to impose tariffs on products from allies such as Canada under the guise of national security concerns. 

Agriculture groups and lawmakers are calling on Trump to stop imposing the tariffs because their products, including pork and soybeans, are being targeted for retaliation by top U.S. trading partners.

Certain groups have said they will lose tens of millions of dollars due to tariffs on their exports. Michael Petefish, the president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, said on CNN that an argument could be made that the trade war has caused $12 billion worth of damage to soybean farmers alone. 

Kasich’s comments come as some GOP lawmakers have voiced outrage over the Trump’s emergency relief announcement. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R) said, “America’s farmers don’t want to be paid to lose — they want to win by feeding the world.”

Trump has pushed back against the criticism, tweeting on Wednesday that “every time I see a weak politician asking to stop Trade talks or the use of Tariffs to counter unfair Tariffs, I wonder, what can they be thinking?”

“Are we just going to continue and let our farmers and country get ripped off? Lost $817 Billion on Trade last year. No weakness!”