Trump to Farmers: “Have a Lot of Fun” — April 2 Tariffs; Steelworker Jeff Denard; $1.7 Trillion in Investment

President Trump used his joint address to Congress to promise American farmers that “nobody is going to be able to compete with you” once agricultural tariffs took effect on April 2, telling them to “have a lot of fun.” He introduced steelworker Jeff Denard of Decatur, Alabama — 27 years at the same plant, captain of his volunteer fire department, father of seven, foster parent to more than 40 children — and said “stories like Jeff’s remind us that tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs, they’re about protecting the soul of our country.” Trump tallied $1.7 trillion in new investment commitments including Apple’s $500 billion, SoftBank’s $200 billion, Oracle-OpenAI’s $500 billion, and TSMC’s $165 billion.

”To Our Farmers, Have a Lot of Fun”

Trump delivered the agricultural tariff announcement with the enthusiasm of someone giving a gift.

“Our new trade policy will also be great for the American farmer. I love the farmer,” Trump said. “Who will now be selling into our home market, the USA, because nobody is going to be able to compete with you.”

He described the problem agricultural tariffs would solve: foreign goods that were “really in a bad position in so many different ways — they’re unexpected. They may be very dirty and disgusting, and they come in and they pour in, and they hurt our American farmers.”

He confirmed the timeline: “The tariffs will go on agricultural product coming into America, our farmers, starting on April 2nd.”

Trump acknowledged there would be an adjustment period, drawing on first-term experience. “It may be a little bit of an adjustment period. We had that before when I made the deal with China — $50 billion of purchases, and I said, just bear with me. And they did,” he recalled.

He noted the Biden failure that had undermined the first-term gains: “The problem with it was that Biden didn’t enforce it. He didn’t enforce it. $50 billion of purchases, and we were doing great, but Biden did not enforce it. And it hurt our farmers.”

Trump concluded with the promise that drew cheers from the chamber: “But our farmers are going to have a field day right now. So to our farmers, have a lot of fun.”

The “field day” pun — deliberate or not — landed perfectly for an agricultural audience. Trump was telling America’s farmers that the protection they had been denied for four years was coming back, and this time it would be enforced.

Jeff Denard: “The Soul of Our Country”

Trump then introduced a guest whose story elevated the tariff argument from economics to values.

“I have also imposed a 25% tariff on foreign aluminum, copper, lumber, and steel,” Trump said. “Because if we don’t have, as an example, steel, and lots of other things, we don’t have a military, and frankly won’t have — we just won’t have a country very long.”

He then introduced the man who embodied what those tariffs protected. “Here today is a proud American steelworker, a fantastic person, from Decatur, Alabama,” Trump said. “Jeff Denard has been working at the same steel plant for 27 years.”

Trump described Jeff’s life beyond the plant: “A job that has allowed him to serve as the captain of his local volunteer fire department, raise seven children with his beautiful wife Nicole, and over the years, provide a loving home for more than 40 foster children.”

The chamber responded with sustained applause. Jeff Denard was not just a steelworker; he was a one-man community institution. His steel job had funded a life of service — fire department volunteer, parent of seven, foster parent to 40 children. Without that job, all of it would disappear.

Trump delivered the line that reframed the entire tariff debate: “Stories like Jeff’s remind us that tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs. They’re about protecting the soul of our country.”

He continued: “Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly.”

Trump acknowledged the disruption with characteristic candor: “There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.”

The “soul of our country” framing was the most philosophically ambitious argument Trump had made for tariffs. The debate had typically been conducted in economic terms — trade deficits, job losses, manufacturing output. Trump was saying the stakes were higher than economics. When a steel plant closed, it didn’t just eliminate jobs; it destroyed the community fabric that Jeff Denard’s life represented. The volunteer fire department, the seven children, the 40 foster kids — all of it depended on the continuation of American steelmaking.

$1.7 Trillion: The Investment Scoreboard

Trump closed the economic segment by tallying the investment commitments that had poured in since his election.

“Thanks to our America First policies we’re putting into place, we have had $1.7 trillion of new investment in America in just the past few weeks,” Trump said.

He listed the marquee commitments:

“SoftBank, one of the most brilliant anywhere in the world, announced a $200 billion investment.”

“OpenAI and Oracle — Larry Ellison — announced $500 billion investment, which they wouldn’t have done if Kamala had won.”

“Apple announced $500 billion investment. Tim Cook called me. He said, ‘I cannot spend it fast enough. It’s going to be much higher than that, I believe.’ They’ll be building their plants here instead of in China.”

“And just yesterday, Taiwan Semiconductor — the biggest in the world, most powerful in the world, has a tremendous amount, 97% of the market — announced a $165 billion investment to build the most powerful chips on earth right here in the USA.”

The combined total — SoftBank ($200B), Oracle-OpenAI ($500B), Apple ($500B), TSMC ($165B), plus DAMAC and others — exceeded $1.7 trillion. Trump’s declaration that these investments “wouldn’t have happened if Kamala had won” connected the investment wave directly to his personal leadership and the policies his administration represented.

Tim Cook’s quote — “I cannot spend it fast enough” — was the most vivid expression of corporate enthusiasm for the Trump economic environment. The CEO of the world’s most valuable company was saying he could not deploy capital quickly enough to take advantage of the business conditions Trump had created.

Key Takeaways

• Trump told farmers “nobody is going to be able to compete with you” once agricultural tariffs take effect April 2: “To our farmers, have a lot of fun.”
• He introduced steelworker Jeff Denard — 27 years at the same plant, volunteer fire captain, father of 7, foster parent to 40+ — saying “tariffs are about protecting the soul of our country.”
• Trump tallied $1.7 trillion in investment: SoftBank $200B, Oracle-OpenAI $500B, Apple $500B (“Tim Cook said ‘I cannot spend it fast enough’”), and TSMC $165B.
• He acknowledged “a little bit of an adjustment period” on tariffs but said it would be “even better” than his first-term China deal, noting Biden “didn’t enforce” the $50B purchase agreement.
• Trump imposed 25% tariffs on foreign aluminum, copper, lumber, and steel, saying “if we don’t have steel, we don’t have a military.”