Firefighter Trump is here to put out part of the fire he started on our farms!

President Donald Trump was in a self-congratulatory mood as his administration announced a $12 billion aid package to help bail out struggling American farmers. “Now we’re once again in a position where a president is able to put farmers first,” Trump crowed during a roundtable of farmers and lawmakers Monday at the White House. “Unfortunately, I’m the only president that does that.” “This money would not be possible without the tariffs,” Trump told the group. “The tariffs are taking in, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars, and we’re giving some up to the farmers because they were mistreated by other countries, for maybe the right reasons, maybe wrong reasons.” It’s a remarkable statement for three reasons. First, in contrast to what the president said, the subsidies to farmers are not actually being funded by the tariffs Trump has championed since returning to office. And the only reason a bailout was needed was because of the effect of the tariffs Trump imposed in April. (The least consequential but funniest reason is the implication that American farmers were being mistreated by foreign countries but maybe the other countries’ hearts were in the right place.) The Agriculture Department’s Farmer Bridge Assistance program will distribute some $11 billion to row crop farmers who produce corn, soybeans, rice, wheat and other staple crops. According to a USDA press release, the program is meant to “address market disruptions, elevated input costs, persistent inflation, and market losses from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impede exports.” An additional $1 billion is set aside for potential help to farmers of commodities such as sugar and other specialty crops that don’t normally qualify for the assistance program. The bulk of the funds will be released by the end of February to farmers who apply for the aid. Crucially, despite Trump's statements, as the New York Times reports the "bridge payments" to farmers "are not being funded directly by tariff income." But those tariffs have dealt a massive blow to the farmers who are turning to the USDA for financial aid. The increased cost of "agricultural inputs," which include seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and mechanical equipment, has cost farmers $33 billion this year, according to North Dakota State University's Agricultural Trade Monitor. I'm not a mathematician, but that is quite a bit more than the $12 billion the government is about to dole out.