唐纳德·特朗普对农民的首次救助出台于2018年，当时总统批准了总额达120亿美元的付款。一年后，这届共和党政府继续推进，宣布了一项价值160亿美元的农民救助计划。
Donald Trump’s first bailout for farmers came in 2018, at which point the president approved payments totaling $12 billion. A year later, the Republican administration kept going, announcing a bailout for farmers worth $16 billion.
去年底，总统又启动了一项120亿美元的农民救助，许多农民因白宫错误且注定失败的贸易关税政策而受损，但这笔资金被证明是不够的。正如我的MS NOW同事海斯·布朗所总结的，该政策只不过是“破管子上贴胶带”，对“解决根本问题几乎毫无作用”。
Late last year, the president launched another $12 billion bailout for farmers, many of whom were harmed by the White House’s misguided and ill-fated trade tariffs policy, though the money proved insufficient. As my MS NOW colleague Hayes Brown summarized, the policy was little more than “duct tape on a broken pipe,” which did “little to fix the underlying problem.”
今年6月，特朗普明确表示正在考虑对该行业实施可能的第四次救助。本周他兑现了承诺，在堪萨斯州的一次竞选集会上宣布了一项80亿美元的救助，专门旨在帮助农民应对更高的柴油成本。《纽约时报》报道：根据这项名为“收获燃料救助计划”的方案，农业部将依据农民种植的面积和作物种类使用一个公式，向他们偿付损失的“一部分”。资金将来自商品信贷公司，这是农业部用于为作物保险和自然灾害赔付项目提供资金的一个融资机构。付款费率将于下月公布，农民将在稍后日期收到款项。
In June, Trump made it clear that he was eyeing a possible fourth bailout for the industry. And this week he followed through, announcing an $8 billion bailout during a campaign rally in Kansas, specifically aimed at helping farmers address higher diesel costs. The New York Times reported: Under the plan, known as the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, the Agriculture Department will use a formula based on how many acres and which crops farmers planted to reimburse them for a “portion” of their losses. The money will come from the Commodity Credit Corporation, a financing institution that the Agriculture Department uses to fund crop insurance and natural disaster payment programs. Payment rates will be announced next month, and farmers will receive money at a later date.
有充分理由相信这80亿美元将不够用。但同样值得注意的是，在特朗普的活动中，他从未提及农民面临更高柴油成本，是因为总统八个月前发动的与伊朗的战争。
There’s ample reason to believe the $8 billion will be insufficient. But just as notably, at no point during Trump’s event did he mention that farmers were struggling with higher diesel costs because of the war with Iran that the president launched eight months ago.
事实上，所有四次救助的共同点在于，它们实际上都是认罪书：特朗普的议程持续损害本国农业产业，进而导致了一系列赔付的必要性。
Indeed, the one thing that all four of the bailouts have in common is that they’re effectively admissions of guilt: Trump’s agenda continues to hurt his own country’s agriculture industry, which in turn has necessitated a series of payouts.
总统最新宣布救助计划的时机，距离大选日仅剩两周，许多州的提前投票已在进行。可以肯定地说，这项救助旨在缓解农业社区选民日益加剧的不满，这些选民长期支持共和党，却似乎没有得到多少回报。正如《MS NOW》本周报道：在农村美国遭遇二十年败绩后，民主党突然在农业州展开反击。该党在爱荷华州、堪萨斯州等农业州的参议院竞选中具有竞争力，在以农村为主的众议院选区也展开角逐，这可能助其在明年一月重夺国会控制权。
As for the timing of the president’s latest announcement, it comes just two weeks before Election Day, with early voting underway in many states. It’s a safe bet that the bailout was intended to address intensifying discontent among voters in farming communities, who have long backed Republicans but don’t appear to have much to show for it. As MS NOW reported this week: After two decades of defeats in rural America, Democrats are suddenly putting up a fight in farm country. The party is running competitive Senate races in Iowa, Kansas and other farm states, as well as House races in heavily rural districts that could help it regain control of Congress in January.
这场命运逆转的功劳（或过错，视党派而定）归于唐纳德·特朗普总统的关税政策及其与伊朗的对抗，这些举措重创农民，将农村经济推入危机。农业部分析师预计，随着成本上升、收入下降，今年农民净收入将下降 5.5%。国家农业法律中心的统计显示，去年农场破产数量激增 45%，今年有望再增 11%。
Credit (or blame, depending on your party) for this reversal of fortune lies with President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his war with Iran, which have battered farmers and pushed the rural economy into crisis. The Department of Agriculture’s analysts expect farmers’ net incomes to decline by 5.5% this year, as costs rise and receipts fall. The National Agricultural Law Center’s tally of farm bankruptcies jumped 45% last year, and is on pace to rise another 11% in 2026.
特朗普最新的救助能否足以扭转选民态度、遏制颓势？两周后便见分晓。
Will Trump’s latest bailout affect voters’ attitudes, enough to stem the tide? We’ll find out in two weeks.