Two farmers quoted in separate stories about the outcry in response to convicted felon President Trump’s recent comments about importing cattle from Argentina sound kind of different, indicating some differences in how their political leanings influence the level of emotion in their responses.
“If Trump goes through with what he outlined, I do believe it’s a betrayal of the American rancher. It’s a feeling that you’re selling us out to a foreign competitor,” Illinois cattle farmer and the senior director of programs at nonpartisan organization Farm Action Christian Lovell told CNN. Of course he could’ve been more profane and angry, but the punch wasn’t pulled very much.
Especially in comparison to fourth-generation Nebraska rancher Scott Thomsen, who told ABC News he’s a Trump fan. “We need to reduce imports. We need to grow our herd. We need to grow domestic beef in this country. We have the means to do it, and I think we should not be looking for new markets to bring beef in here,” said Thomsen, evidently afraid of being designated a woke homosexual communist Muslim by his neighbors if he were to express his feelings more honestly.
The bottom line is that the social pressures of political tribalism are an impediment to candor.