It has been a turbulent year for the fraught US-China relationship. In the fifth part of a series looking back at the events of 2025, we examine how Trump’s strained relationship with farmers in America’s rural heartland may impact the 2026 midterm elections.
As a bruising 2025 draws to a close for America’s Democratic Party, the caucus is spotlighting mounting challenges facing farmers in the country’s rural heartland.
In a series of mini-documentaries released late this year, the lush green rows of the Midwest are replaced by a stark, dust-blown reality of flecked rust and idle machinery. The ad films eschew political polish for gritty, handheld shots of “gumbo soil” and weathered barns, where growers depict an agricultural economy where hardships transcend party lines.
Against this sombre, dreary backdrop, multi-generational farmers say US President Donald Trump’s policies are squeezing them dry. It is a narrative Democrats hope will resonate across America, serving as a warning signal to the president’s base as the countdown to the 2026 midterms begins.
For Democrats, the strategy is a high-stakes gamble: regaining legislative control in the 2026 midterms depends on chipping away at Trump’s rural stronghold. By amplifying the voices of disillusioned farmers, the party aims to rebuild trust with a rural electorate that has long eluded them.
But as the year ends, the question remains whether mounting economic frustration is enough to shatter the cultural bonds that have tied the heartland to the president and his party for the past several decades.
