Trump in full-on lunatic mode as his trade policy crushes farmers

I know, when is he not in “full-on lunatic mode?” Anyway:

President Donald Trump is seeking an additional $15 billion in U.S. subsidies in an effort to protect farmers from the devastating impact of his trade war with China. That’s on top of $12 billion already earmarked for the farmers to help them weather the fallout.

That would be an additional bill for U.S. taxpayers already shouldering the cost of increased tariffs in the form of higher costs for products and parts from China. 

Trump revealed the subsidy figure in a tweet Friday. He suggested the government use the funds to buy agricultural products to ship to other nations for humanitarian aid, though setting up such a system would be extremely complicated. In his most recent budget proposal, Trump proposed eliminating three food aid programs, Politico noted.

The president appeared to dismiss the impact of the cost as he falsely claimed — again — that “massive” tariff payments are being paid by China “directly” to the U.S. Treasury, which would presumably be used to cover the cost of the subsidy. There is “absolutely no need to rush” to negotiate a deal with China, he tweeted. - Huffington Post

Even South Dakota’s right-wing governor is bemoaning what Trump is doing. But I’ve seen little indication that his political support is really plummeting in farm country the way it should. Making that happen would seem to be a “hard row to hoe.” (Weak, I know. I typed it anyway.)