Either out-of-touch billionaire Donald Trump woke up to the fact that affordability is not a hoax, or somebody abroad made a generous “donation” to one of his “charities,” or bank accounts. Maybe all of the above. Or maybe he’s just lying about the whole thing.
In any event, President “I don’t care about high prices” announced on social media Friday that he had “concluded a deal to substantially lower the price of ground beef for working American families” by allowing “up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff” for the next 90 days.
By wild coincidence, I’m sure, the midterms happen to be 74 days away (as I write this, on Friday morning).
“We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices,” Trump added. “This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again.” Tell me again, how it's the Democrats who are the socialists.
Glaringly absent from Trump’s post was any explanation as to whom he made the deal with or what other terms were involved. Given the stunning level of Trump’s incompetence and corruption, that’s a huge red flag.
And speaking of red flags, there's a “two weeks” alert: “Trump plans to sign an executive order formalizing the directive within two weeks, [a White House] official said,” Associated Press reported. So this mystery deal isn't even done.
Perhaps more importantly, Trump’s deal is a slap in the face to American ranchers, some of his biggest supporters. They made a big outcry last October when “America First” Trump tried to bolster the economy of his Argentinian crony last year with imported beef, claiming he wanted to do it to bring U.S. beef prices down.
It doesn’t seem this will make U.S. ranchers any happier or any more productive. “The idea of increased beef imports from abroad can create uncertainty for ranchers, which in turn could make them less likely to make investments to grow the herd,” AP said. Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), quickly posted on social media that Trump’s move would “further harm” American ranchers, “most of whom are MAGA Republicans,” AP further noted.
As for the rest of us, even if Trump’s deal goes through and lowers prices, which ranchers disputed last year, we can expect prices to go right back up again shortly after the midterms.
The MAGA ranchers wasted no time letting Trump know how they feel:
Betrayal pic.twitter.com/NqfH7yImjL
— Meriwether Farms (@MeriwetherFarms) August 21, 2026
We understand why beef prices are a problem right now. Ground beef is averaging $6.89 a pound, up 57% since 2021, and that's real pressure on American families.
But flooding the market with 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef with no tariff for 90 days is not a solution… pic.twitter.com/G0seXBQnch— Good Ranchers (@GoodRanchers) August 21, 2026
