Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said during a Wednesday appearance on Tucker Carlson’s show that President Donald Trump’s plan to import Argentine beef to lower prices for U.S. consumers is “a punch in the gut to all of our American cattle ranchers.”
Newsweek reached out to Greene’s press team for comment via email on Thursday.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration’s effort to tackle high beef prices comes after it announced a near $20 billion bailout to the South American country. Trump’s proposal has drawn intense criticism from American cattle workers, who worry it will undercut domestic competitiveness while doing little to lower consumer costs.
Greene, a Georgia Republican who says she “loves” Trump, has been among the most vocal critics of the GOP in recent weeks. She has broken from her party on matters like health care, intervention in the Middle East, and the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking.
She aligns with and seeks to reinforce the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda, and in recent days, she has been joined by a handful of Republican lawmakers from farming states who have opposed the preliminary plan, arguing that it contradicts the president’s agenda.
What To Know
Greene, a Trump ally, took issue with the president’s plan, telling Carlson on Wednesday, “I have no idea who is telling our great president, our ‘America First’ president that this a good idea.” She added that American cattle ranchers are “furious and rightfully so.”
As the contours of his plan were announced, cattle rancher associations immediately pushed back.
John Boyd, a farmer and the founder of the National Black Farmers Association, previously told Newsweek he was “appalled” that the president would support Argentine agriculture over U.S. ranchers. Justin Tupper, the president of the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA), previously told Newsweek that the plan “weakens our industry’s foundation and undermines rural America.”
Greene said that Trump’s Argentina deal could impact the midterm elections because voters are “really angry that our American cattle ranchers and beef ranchers are getting screwed and Argentina beef is going to be sold to America.” She added that they “they’re sick and tired of the foreign countries constantly on television every single day at the White House. They don’t want to see a foreign leader there,” emphasizing the president’s ‘America First’ base.
The average price of ground beef climbed to an all-time high of $6.32 per pound in the most recent federal report before the government shutdown began, sparking the administration’s move. Several factors have pushed beef prices to record highs, including strong consumer demand and the smallest U.S. cattle herd since 1961.
Overall, beef imports have also fallen, partly because of the 50 percent tariff Trump imposed on Brazilian beef, a major source of imports, and restrictions on shipments from Mexico, where officials are battling a flesh-eating pest. Agricultural economists estimate that Argentine beef accounts for only about 2 percent of beef imports, so it may not have as big an impact as the public response suggests.
The beef plan comes after the administration already announced supporting the nation’s economy, which received sharp backlash within MAGA circles as well, with Greene calling it “probably one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen.”
Many critics of the plan believe that money should stay in the U.S. and not be delivered to foreign countries.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday: “The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% tariff on Brazil. If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years–Terrible! It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) wrote on X on Wednesday: “Cattlemen and women cannot stand behind President Trump while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef.”
Todd Armstrong, a cattle and crop farmer in Indiana, told CNN: “What frustrates me about this whole move is President Trump ran on an ‘America First’ program. I don’t see anything in this that puts America first. It’s hypocritical.”
Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren wrote on X on October 21: “Why the actual F***would we buy Argentinian beef? Our AMERICAN ranchers are getting crushed already by cheap s*** foreign beef imports. The meat packers are already under cutting our AMERICAN producers as it is. This is an OUTRAGE.”
Meriwether Farms wrote on X on October 20: “We love you and support you— but your suggestion to buy beef from Argentina to stabilize beef prices would be an absolute betrayal to the American cattle rancher…We understand beef prices are high, and we admire your concern for all Americans, but this is not the fault of the American producer.
“This is the fault of politicians who have allowed BRICS-aligned entities to dominate the meat industry, that participate in price fixing and who also continually lie to their consumers…The American cattle rancher is one of the last symbols of independence we have in the nation—but the continued manipulation and betrayal by the very people who claim to support them, needs to end immediately.”
Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, wrote on X on Wednesday: “Last night, @SchmittNYC & I discussed the President’s proposal to purchase more beef from Argentina. The America First solution to rising beef prices is my bill, the PRIME Act. It would empower farmers to sell directly to consumers without corporate middlemen.”
Representatives Linda Sanchez and Terri Sewell led 54 Democratic colleagues in a press release on October 21: “President Trump has explicitly conditioned the bailout on the electoral success in this month’s elections of President Milei’s party. The U.S. Treasury’s authorities to address international financial crises, which are meant for situations that present a genuine U.S. national interest, should not be used to influence elections abroad. In this regard, President Trump has not only conditioned the loan on President Milei’s electoral prospects, but he has also noted that the United States will not benefit from the bailout.”
What Happens Next
The U.S. has not finalized an agreement to purchase Argentine beef, although discussions are reportedly ongoing.
