Temporary flight restrictions went into effect above the Chippewa Valley Friday, June 5 as Air Force One descended from Washington to Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire.

On board, U.S. President Donald Trump had come to hold a roundtable on agriculture issues at Custer Farms, seeking to rally support for GOP candidates ahead of the fall election. Trump arrived at 2:10 p.m. to Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, along with U.S. Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Tom Tiffany and Sen. Ron Johnson. Van Orden is running unopposed in the GOP primary for District 3, while Tiffany is currently running for governor. Johnson’s next election is in 2028.

The group traveled by motorcade to Custer Farms north of 29 and west of Chippewa Falls on County Highway T. Both supporters and protesters were on hand to greet President Trump’s arrival, with things staying civil, if divided.

The day’s ultimate political purpose was driven home in opening remarks from the President at Custer Farms.

“I hope you’re going to be voting Republican because Republican frankly is the way to go,”

Trump said Friday, saying that the Democrats were going to have problems and that if they didn’t “this country is finished. We’re in trouble.”

Trump went on to say that Democratic policies were bad for farmers, making use of partisan language and political nicknames to connect with his base, and also bringing up the “blockade.”

“The blockade is wonderful,” he said of retaliatory U.S. action in the ongoing war with Iran. “We’ve never had a blockade like that.”

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. and Israeli attacks on top Iranian leadership at the end of February, cutting off sea exports from the Gulf region that rely on the Strait. Among the exports affected are crude oil and fertilizer, both of which factor into farm costs. Reuters has reported the World Bank projects a 24 percent increase in energy prices over 2026, with diesel up 25 percent from pre-conflict levels. Also affected are urea (up 50 to 55 percent per Reuters) with nitrogen fertilizer costs increasing from 30 to 35 percent.

“We’re going to come out of Iran one way or another, whether it’s a piece of paper or the very tough way,” Trump assured the audience at Custer Farms. “The very tough way is maybe the easier way, but we’re going to come out and your fertilizer prices are going to go way down, just like they were four months ago. Your fertilizer’s down, your energy is down, your oil, your gas is all coming way down. And frankly I thought it would go much higher than it did. I thought gas would be much higher than it is.”

Trump said farmers are amazing people.

“They’re really amazing people,” he said. “They built this country. You all built this country. Not the complainers, not the wise guys. You all built this country. And I just want to let you know that Wisconsin for me has been a great place.”

Trump then painted a picture of violence at the southern border which he said had been brought under control.

“We had the worst border maybe anywhere in the world,” Trump said. “There was no border…But we have the safest border in our history for the last 12 months. And this is a hard number to believe, but I don’t give it. It’s a number that is out there, you’ve heard it. Zero people have come into our country through our southern border. Zero. It’s a little hard to believe.” Trump contrasted this with 25 million that he said had come in under former President Joe Biden.

Trump then shifted to discussing agriculture and egg prices from when he took office, saying Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had brought the prices down, also taking time to mention current District 7 Rep. Tom Tiffany.

“Tom Tiffany is one of the best congressmen in our country,” he said. “Right at the beginning I endorsed this guy…I can tell you right away. Tom Tiffany’s running for governor. He’s a winner and he’s going to do a great job.”

Shifting to job numbers, Trump noted what he said was 7,000 manufacturing jobs and 17,000 new construction jobs, rattling off a list of statistics, while also touching on tariffs.

“They’re coming in from Canada,” he said. “Canada treats you guys rough. You know Canada they put on big tariffs. We didn’t meet them with tariffs, I took care of them my first term really strongly, and I am right now. But Canada’s been very rough.”

The United States imposed a 25 percent tariff on most Canadian imports in February of last year, a lower 10 percent tariff being placed on Canadian energy products. Border security and fentanyl concerns were cited in rationale for the move, which predated a 10 baseline tariff on most worldwide imports in April 2025. The Trump administration lowered the tariff on potash from Canada to 10 percent to reduce pressure on fertilizer costs. Trump claimed that jobs numbers had been underreported by 100,000.

“They were obviously Democrats, right?” he told the crowd of the jobs report. Trump said that blue collar was “doing well” and recalled help the administration had extended farmers in his first term, before shifting back to the present.

“What happened here is artificial,” he said. “With the energy and the fertilizer, it’s artificial.”

Trump noted what he said was African American unemployment lower than it had ever been, painting a picture of U.S. recovery since the administration had taken office last year.

Trump also touted efforts to clean up Washington D.C. aesthetically and in terms of crime, saying 2 percent of the people caused 91 percent of the crime.

“I love that statistic, because you can get rid of 2 percent,” he said, implying they had been deported.

Trump then read from a sheet noting what he said were failures of past administrations that were being rectified, promising to bring down rising fertilizer prices from the “military operation.”

“It’s going to come down to where it was or lower,” he said. “You’ll be very happy.”

Trump took time to tout Republican candidates.

“With Republicans in Congress like Tom Tiffany, like Derrick Van Orden,” Trump said. “This guy fights like hell.”

Van Orden’s campaign shared a press release Friday morning attacking prospective opponent Rebecca Cooke, a farmer’s daughter and one of four Democrats running in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary for a chance to face Van Orden in November.

“Commie Cooke claims her family lost their farm to competition, but she willingly sides with anti-energy, anti-agriculture policies that would make it impossible for any small family farms in Wisconsin to survive,” campaign spokesperson Grace Kim said. “Rebecca Cooke would sell out every single Wisconsin family, even her own, just to pander to Washington Democrats."

Kim cited what she said was Cooke’s support for the Green New Deal as well as Biden-Harris LNG ban driving up farm costs, along with opposition to Wisconsin’s Line 5 pipeline, an oil and natural gas transit line.

Cooke answered with a press conference of her own.

“I think that people voted for Trump for this America First agenda and thought that he was going to put the interests of working farm families first, and it’s been exactly the opposite,” she said. “This really flies in the face of what people were promised out on the campaign trail from both of these candidates and what they got in return.”

Cooke’s campaign website includes proposals to restructure the Farm Bill with greater focus on agriculture and the farming community, ensure tax incentives and subsidies are created for small and midsize farms and not just bigger ag, and enforcement of antitrust laws impacting farmers’ ability to compete with growing corporate conglomerates, while expanding export markets for all commodities.

Also holding a farm-based event in Wisconsin last week was Democratic Party candidate for governor Mandela Barnes, who visited Riverview Dairy Farm near Boyd on Thursday.

“Rural Wisconsin, rural America has been good to President Donald Trump, but Donald Trump has not been good for rural America; he’s not been good to rural Wisconsin,” Barnes said. “As we continue to deal with the impacts of these tariffs, as we continue to deal with impacts like him deciding to invade other countries at will or launch illegal wars, the disrespect is hard to count.”

Barnes criticized opponent Tiffany (who grew up on a farm in Elmwood) for what he said was a track record of siding with the President, even as farmers have been hurt by the current administration’s policies. Barnes’ proposal for agriculture includes measures to enforce antitrust laws against monopolies and seek tariff refunds while expanding market access and incentivize purchasing or succession planning for farmland.

Tiffany’s campaign website states that Tiffany has delivered for Wisconsin’s farmers, supporting dairy producers and ginseng growers “through key farm support programs in Congress.” Tiffany notes he fought to ban the death tax and against wind and solar projects on Wisconsin farmland, pledging that “not a single acre of our farmland falls into the hands of Communist China.”

Returning to Custer Farms on Friday, Trump touted programs including tax deductions for farm equipment.

“Any equipment one year. You can deduct it all in the first year instead of over a period of many years,” Trump said, also referencing the end of the estate and death tax.

A total of 233 dairy farms were lost in 2025, according to numbers from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, with 5,115 total dairy farms in Wisconsin as of Jan. 1, 2026. That is just over half the number of farms in the state a decade ago.

Trump said he has increased biofuels exports and dairy and signed the Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act, promising a farm bill and lower grocery prices.

“Remember, I inherited these prices,” he said. “I didn’t start. My prices were great.”

U.S. money supply growth (M2) increased by $6.3 trillion or 41 percent under COVID-era stimulus measures between February 2020 and April 2022, starting under Trump and continuing with Biden. Without a corresponding increase in the production of real goods or GDP growth the usual result of such a money supply increase is inflation, as extra dollars are spread out over the same amount of goods. Real GDP grew in comparison by just 4-6 percent over the same time period, per the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Trump went on to allege crooked elections, referenced a ban on women in men’s sports, and pledged “no transgender mutilation surgery,” earning applause from those in attendance. Trump also thanked Ken Custer, owner of Custer Farms for hosting the event, promising better times ahead as he advocated for Republican candidates. Joe Thomas from Hall of Fame Farms was seated at Trump’s left hand.

“And when fuel comes down, they’re really going to come down,” he said of costs related to the ongoing Iran conflict that started Feb. 28 with U.S. Israeli airstrikes. The crowd broke into a chant of “USA! USA!” as Olympic speed skater Jordan Stolz draped one of two gold medals he possessed over Trump’s neck, shaking the President’s hand.

“I’m keeping it,” Trump told the crowd of Stolz’s medal. “I’m a very good guy for keeping gold. I like gold.”

Trump later returned the medal to Stolz at the end of Friday’s event, ceding the floor to other speakers for brief remarks.

“We’ll go very quickly because I have to get back to fighting a war,” he said. “I have to get back to a place called Washington to help keep you safe.”

A series of roundtable speakers then shared brief remarks, many of them thanking and praising the president for his contributions to the country and its politics.

With war still affecting global trade, the House voted Wednesday, June 3 to pass a War Powers Resolution to remove United States Forces from hostilities with Iran, passing the House with 211 Democratic votes and four Republicans.

Van Orden put out a statement after the votes were tallied.

“This was a foolish, politically driven vote that would restrict the Commander-in-Chief’s ability, regardless of their political party, to exercise their Constitutionally enumerated authority as explicitly stated in Article II, Sec II,” he said. “The Constitution designates the President as Commander-in-Chief for a reason. President Trump acted fully within its constitutional authority and in accordance with the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Limiting a President’s ability to respond to threats makes our nation weaker.

“If Congress wants to debate military strategy, are they also prepared to dictate deployment schedules, operational timelines, and rules of engagement from the House floor? That is not how our military operates, and it is not how we keep Americans safe.

“Our adversaries are watching. Sending a message that partisan politics can override the Commander-in-Chief’s ability to act decisively undermines deterrence and emboldens those who wish to do harm to the United States and our allies.

“I voted against this resolution because America needs strength, not political theater masquerading as national security policy.”

Temporary flight restrictions lifted late Friday afternoon as Air Force One returned to Washington D.C. from Eau Claire.