O'Rourke Campaign Press Release - Beto Responds to Trump Ethanol Giveaway, Earns Endorsement From Farmer, Former USDA Official

DES MOINES, IOWA — Responding to news that the Trump Administration has reached a deal on ethanol waivers, Beto O'Rourke's Iowa campaign announced the endorsement of Doug Thompson, an Iowa farmer who also served in President Clinton's U.S. Department of Agriculture. This endorsement underscores Beto's commitment to holding Trump accountable for his disastrous trade war.

Click here to watch Doug's endorsement video.

"This announcement fails to fix the damage Donald Trump has already done to Iowa farmers like my family and me. From his illegal ethanol waivers under coal lobbyist-turned-EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, to his ongoing trade war that has cost Iowa farmers billions of dollars, Donald Trump has been a disaster for rural America. This announcement is nothing but a thinly-veiled political stunt to distract folks from the lasting damage done by Trump's Administration," said Doug Thompson, an Iowa farmer and a former USDA official under President Clinton. "Beto O'Rourke is the right choice to lead us out of Trump's mess; from his commitment to trade that benefits American producers, growers and workers, to his steadfast support of the Renewable Fuels Standard. I'm proud to stand behind Beto O'Rourke for President."

During the Democratic debate in Houston, Beto highlighted his plan for farmers, including paying them for their environmental work, planting more cover crops, keeping more land under conservation, using no-till farming and regenerative agriculture to pull carbon out of the air. During the Democratic debate in Detroit, Beto was the first candidate to stand up for Iowa's farmers and highlight how Donald Trump's damaging trade war is economically hurting Iowa's agricultural economy.

Beto has been a fierce critic of Trump's approach to trade relations with China, a country that needs to be held accountable for its international trade practices without it coming at the direct expense of hardworking Iowans. Trump's trade war with China and Mexico has already resulted in farmers seeing a nearly $12 billion drop in annualized earnings in the first quarter of 2019 — hitting Iowa, a top corn and soybean-exporting state, especially hard.

In a CNN op-ed, Beto highlighted the stories he's heard from farmers in Iowa and across the country about the impact of Donald Trump's dangerous trade wars and economic policies. As Trump continues to waste Iowa farmers' money and time with his reckless trade wars, Beto has been going to rural communities to listen and learn from them on how we move forward.