The Senate Majority Leader sides with ranchers over the president.
Well, I didn’t expect to see John Thune throw a punch at his own party’s president, but here we are.
The Senate Majority Leader just came out against Trump’s plan to flood the U.S. market with Argentine beef. Thune told reporters he thinks the deal undercuts American ranchers, which is a polite way of saying it’s a dumb idea that screws his voters.
You don’t usually see a Senate leader break ranks like this. Their job is to defend the president’s policies, not roast them. But South Dakota runs on cattle, and Thune’s constituents are already struggling with high feed and land costs. Letting in cheap Argentine beef would gut local producers. Farmers who once thought Trump had their backs are now realizing he’s shaking hands with their competition.
Trump’s framing this as a strategic play to counter China’s influence in South America. But ranchers aren’t thinking about geopolitics – they’re thinking about staying in business. They voted for “America First” and got “Argentina First” instead.
Thune’s pushback isn’t just about cows. It’s about survival. He’s signaling to farm-state Republicans that it’s okay to tell Trump no when his deals hit too close to home. Others from Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas are reportedly just waiting for someone else to go first. Well, Thune went first.
This also exposes the core contradiction in Trump’s trade pitch. He built his brand on protecting American workers from foreign competition, then cut a deal that does the opposite. The White House’s claim that this will help consumers with lower prices won’t land in places where “cheaper beef” means “fewer ranchers.”
Agriculture groups are mobilizing, warning that Argentine beef doesn’t meet U.S. safety or quality standards. Whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter much – what matters is the politics. And the politics say Trump just handed Democrats a talking point in farm country.
So now Trump’s boxed in. Push the deal, and he alienates his own senators. Kill it, and he looks weak. Either way, Thune just cracked the door open on Republican dissent, and that’s something we haven’t seen in a while.
If you’re a cattle rancher, Thune’s your guy this week. If you’re Trump, you just got outflanked by your own majority leader.