Trump asking farmers to make ‘patriotic’ sacrifices in his trade war

Source: Politico | May 17, 2019 | Gabby Orr

The president is issuing a rare political call for American workers to take on pain in the name of a greater good.

President Donald Trump and his allies are appealing to nationalism in the trade war with China, calling on Americans to make “patriotic” sacrifices in language reminiscent of national crises and even wars.

Under the “Make America Great Again” banner, Trump has sought to make patriotism cool again — and as he extends his showdown with Beijing, he is targeting the message to the farmers who bear much of the burden of Chinese tariffs.

“Our great Patriot Farmers,” the president wrote in a series of tweets on Tuesday, “will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of what is happening now.” Trump’s claim followed China’s announcement that it plans to retaliate against his latest tariffs with increased duties on $60 billion in U.S. goods, in an escalating showdown with no end in sight.

Trump has often made political appeals to patriotism, as when he urged NFL executives to ban player protests during the national anthem. But the China trade is the first case where he has called for Americans — in this case farmers and other workers, including “ranchers and industrial workers” hit by tariffs — to sacrifice in the name of a long-term greater national good.

It also mirrors, albeit in milder terms, the message that Chinese state media has employed in recent days as the country attempts to brace its own people for a painful trade fight with the U.S.

“Farmers are patriotic and understand that someone had to finally call China to account,” Tim Murtaugh, communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said in a statement, adding that farmers “understand the long game, because long-term planning is what they do.”

The appeal to patriotism underscores the degree to which Trump is casting his showdown with China in terms that go beyond free markets and trade deficits. The president and his advisers speak of China as a threat to American interests and values in a global competition to define the 21st century, claiming that a little sacrifice from everyone will help extinguish the threat.

Few modern presidents have issued bold calls for patriotic sacrifice. Calling a 1977 energy crisis “the moral equivalent of war,” Jimmy Carter urged Americans to drive slowly, carpool, and even turn down their thermostats to conserve oil.

One prominent historian pointed back to the Second World War as a precedent.

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  • Consistent #29497

    EVERYDAY #29514

    And what sacrifices are YOU going to make Little Donnie?

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