MAPLEWOOD – Rural America 2020, a new national campaign fighting back against Trump Administration policies that are hurting already-struggling rural communities across key 2020 states, announced a slate of rural leaders in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa who will be leading the charge in the campaign’s efforts.
According to a press reloease, the groups will tackle Trump’s trade war, spread the word about the Trump Administration’s rural community failures, give a voice to rural communities, and provide policy solutions for a stronger rural America. The group is chaired by Christopher Gibbs, a Maplewood, Ohio soybean farmer, former Trump voter, local GOP chairman, and USDA Farm Service Agency official who has become an outspoken critic of the president and his trade policies.
“Rural communities all across this nation are struggling under this administration,” said Gibbs, chairman of the Rural America 2020 board. “I knew we were in trouble when the president said trade wars are good and easy to win. Lost trade opportunities, dwindling health care providers, rural hospital closures, below cost of production prices for commodities and livestock, collapse of the biofuel market, bankruptcies, and suicides all plagued rural America well before COVID-19. The uncoordinated response of the Trump administration to the pandemic has upended traditional food supply chains and only made things worse for our dairy, livestock, and fresh produce farmers.
“Too often rural America is portrayed with a broad brush as Trump country,” Gibbs said. “Under Rural America 2020, we’ve built a network of rural leaders in the most important states to show our rural neighbors that they are not alone in clearing their throats, standing up and speaking the truth about how their livelihoods have been put in jeopardy by this administration’s policies. We are committed to giving a voice to rural folks and making it safe for them to speak truth to power when it comes to saving their farms, businesses and way of life. Rural America 2020 is a way to focus that wave of discontent toward a positive outcome.”
In addition to building community level coalitions, Rural America 2020 will be advertising in key states to highlight real farmer’s voices who are critical of the president and his policies. This week, Rural America 2020 released a statewide radio advertisement in Michigan featuring Cheryl Kobernik, a cherry farmer in Frankfort, Michigan.
Watch a video of Gibbs discussing Rural America 2020’s mission and work at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIdvvjllrOk.
Rural America 2020 is a 501 (c) 4 and information about the campaigns leadership can be found RuralAmerica2020.org/about-us. Information on the full network of Rural America 2020 state leaders can be found at https://ruralamerica2020.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Rural-America-Steering-Committee-Rural-Leaders.pdf.
