There was an odd point in June when the Trump administration curtailed immigration raids on farms, then reversed course, only to reverse course again, leaving many to wonder exactly what the policy was. As Politico reported, the president is apparently moving toward some kind of resolution, and he sketched out something akin to a policy during his latest CNBC interview.
Trump said his administration will continue to deport criminals, but that he wants to ‘work with’ farmers to find a solution for their workers, oftentimes immigrants who have lived in the country illegally for decades and are paying taxes. He suggested the White House was working on a touchback program for some workers, requiring them to leave the U.S. and reenter through a legal pathway, an idea that faces strong opposition among immigration hawks who view exceptions for one industry as a slippery slope.
“We can’t let our farmers not have anybody,” the president added.
But during the same interview, Trump went quite a bit further by sharing some thoughts on what he believes makes immigrant farm workers unique.
Trump on undocumented farm workers: "People that live in the inner city are not doing that work. They've tried, we've tried, everybody tried. They don't do it. These people do it naturally. Naturally … they don't get a bad back, because if they get a bad back, they die."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-08-05T12:42:29.216Z
After claiming that Americans who “live in the inner city” won’t do farm work, Trump argued, “They’ve tried. We’ve tried. Everybody’s tried. They don’t do it. These people do it naturally. Naturally. I said, ‘What happens’ — to a farmer the other day — ‘What happens if they get a bad back?’ He said, ‘They don’t get a bad back, sir, because if they get a bad back, they die.’ I said, ‘That’s interesting.’ … In many ways, they’re very, very special people.”
For now, let’s not dwell on the fact that the president, who has an unfortunate habit of sharing the details of conversations that never occurred, probably didn’t have this conversation with a farmer “the other day.” It’s far easier to believe that Trump just made all of this up. (The “sir” is a tell.)
Let’s instead dwell on the fact that Trump seemed to suggest that immigrants are “naturally” designed for farm work.
If that rhetoric sounds at all familiar, it is not your imagination. The New York Times reported last fall, about a month before Election Day 2024: With the presidential race in its closing weeks, Donald J. Trump’s language has grown increasingly strident on the issue of immigration. But as he continues to demonize undocumented migrants as violent criminals, the former president is also reviving another old habit: invoking his long-held fascination with genes and genetics. For decades, including long before he became a political figure, Mr. Trump has been publicly obsessed with bloodlines and his stated belief that genetics are the best predictor of a person’s success. Indeed, this was a staple of the Republican’s 2024 messaging, complaining about undocumented immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country” and the degree to which the U.S. was dealing with those with “bad genes.” Months later, as NBC News reported, Trump appeared on Fox Noticias. “Hispanic people have been supportive of me like no other candidate,” the Republican claimed, adding, “They’re great people. They work so hard. They are very, very entrepreneurial, always have been, always will be. See, that’s genetics, too. You know, we talked about genetics before. That’s genetics, too.” The president’s perspective on the issue appears to be getting worse.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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