Trump to announce $12 billion bailout plan for farmers, White House official says
A farmer climbs onto a cotton stripper during a harvest at a farm near Corn, Okla., Nov. 19, 2025. Nick Oxford/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is set to announce a $12 billion aid package for American farmers on Monday, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
The package is set to include $11 billion in one-time payments to crop farmers through a new Department of Agriculture bridge payment program. The remaining funds will then go to other crops not covered by that program.
The long-promised aid package is intended to provide relief to farmers who have been hurt directly by Trump’s trade policies, including his global tariffs.
The news of the aid package announcement was first reported by Bloomberg.
A White House official confirmed that Trump will announce the package at an event with farmers at the White House on Monday afternoon.
Impact of tariffs on farmers
The aid package comes as the U.S.-China trade war has hit soybean farmers especially hard. Through most of this fall, during a bumper harvest season, China had blocked all purchases of soybeans from the U.S.
China was the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans in 2024, accounting for $12.64 billion in sales, according to the USDA.
During Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi in late October, the U.S. and China announced a framework trade agreement that included a deal on soybeans. China agreed to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans in the final two months of this year and 25 million metric tons in 2026, 2027 and 2028 — on par with levels before the trade war.
So far, China has purchased about 2.2 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S. since the end of October, USDA data shows.
New package comes after Argentina bailout controversy
The administration’s new actions also come on the heels of the administration’s $20 billion bailout of Argentina, a move many American farmers and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle criticized.
This fall, as China stopped buying all soybeans from U.S. farmers, it purchased soybeans from Argentina instead. So as the U.S. was giving a financial lifeline to Argentina, a country that directly benefited from the trade war, American farmers said they felt left behind.
“Farmers VERY upset [about] Argentina selling soybeans to China right after USA bail out Still ZERO USA soybeans sold to China,” Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa wrote in a September social media post about the bailout.
Trump, in his first term, also took action to bail out American farmers. His administration approved two packages in 2018 and 2019 totaling $28 billion for farmers impacted by his economic policies.
(WASHINGTON) President Donald Trump and Hungary’s autocratic leader Viktor Orban, whom Trump has repeatedly praised as a “strongman,” will meet at the White House on Friday.
Expected to be part of the talks is Russia’s war in Ukraine, specifically new U.S. sanctions targeting two of Moscow’s largest oil companies and their subsidiaries that are set to go into effect on Nov. 21.
Last week, Trump said Orban wanted an exemption from the sanctions.
“He has asked for an exemption. We haven’t granted one, but he has asked. He’s a friend of mine. He’s asked for an exemption,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
Orban was recently going to play host to a summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, before Trump called the proposed meeting off amid frustration with the lack of progress in peace talks.
Trump said they had picked Budapest, Hungary as the location because both he and Putin liked Orban.
“He’s been a very good leader in the sense of running his country,” Trump said of Orban.
Ahead of Friday’s meeting, Orban posted on X that he hoped to “open a new chapter in Hungarian–American relations with President Trump.”
“Our goal is to establish a strategic partnership that includes energy cooperation, investments, defence collaboration, and discussions on the post-war landscape following the Russia–Ukraine conflict. We are working on an agreement based on mutual benefits, one that serves the interests of every Hungarian citizen,” Orban wrote.
Trump also welcomed Orban to the White House during his first term, in 2019, breaking from his predecessors who had shunned Hungary’s prime minister from Washington.
The two men met several times when Trump was out of office at his Florida estate, including during the summer of the 2024 campaign and after Trump became president-elect.
Orban has been embraced by many prominent American conservatives over his positions on immigration and LGBTQ issues, and has spoken several times at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Orban hosted a CPAC event in Hungary earlier this year.
Trump praised Orban during the ABC News September 2024 presidential debate with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, after Harris claimed Trump was not respected on the world stage.
“Let me just tell you about world leaders. Viktor Orban, one of the most respected men — they call him a strong man. He’s a tough person. Smart. Prime Minister of Hungary. They said why is the whole world blowing up? Three years ago it wasn’t. Why is it blowing up? He said because you need Trump back as president,” Trump said during the debate.
Zohran Mamdani is seen on November 20, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by BG048/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met in the Oval Office Friday discussing topics around affordability and safety in New York City, appearing cordial despite trading barbs for months.
“I just want to congratulate. I think you’re going to have hopefully a really great mayor and the better he does, the happier I am. I will say there’s no difference in party. There’s no difference in anything. And we’re going to be helping him, to make everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York and congratulations, Mr. Mayor,” Trump said.
“It was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.
In the days leading up to their first face-to-face meeting, the two New Yorkers told the press they are looking forward to working together to help the Big Apple, especially when it came to affordability. Trump and Mamdani appeared cordial and shook hands after the 25 minute closed door talk and said they agreed on a lot.
“I’m not concerned about this meeting. I view this meeting as an opportunity for me to make my case,” Mamdani told reporters Thursday at a news conference.
Trump announced the meeting on Wednesday night on social media, repeating the “communist” label he’s been using against Mamdani, who is a member of the Democratic Socialist group, and putting his middle name, Kwame, in quotes.
In a radio interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade out Friday before the meeting, Trump said he believes the meeting will go well and that he came after Mamdani a little too hard during the election cycle.
“He’s got a different philosophy. He’s a little bit different. I give him a lot of credit for the run. They did a successful run, and we all know that runs are not easy, but I think we’ll get along fine,” Trump said. “Look, we’re looking for the same thing. We want to make New York strong, and you know, there’s such a different philosophy”
Ahead of the meeting, Robert Wolf, a former UBS executive who is close with former President Barack Obama, said on X that he had a Zoom call with Mamdani Thursday “discussing recent economic news and his upcoming meeting with President Trump.”
Mamdani has been a vocal critic of the administration over its policies, including increased deportations, cuts to government agencies and attacks on cities run by Democrats.
On election night, the 34-year-old mayor-elect spoke directly to Trump in his acceptance speech and told him to “turn the volume up,” as he vowed to protect immigrants.
“So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us,” he said.
When asked about the election night comments during his radio interview.
“I don’t know exactly what he means by turn the volume up, because turn the volume up. He has to be careful when he says that to me,” Trump said.
Since Mamdani won the June Democratic primary, Trump has spoken out against the state assemblyman, at one point threatening to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, moved to New York as a child, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018.
“We’re going to be watching that very carefully. And a lot of people are saying, he’s here illegally,” Trump claimed with no evidence in July.
The president has also threatened to withhold federal funding to New York if Mamdani won the election.
Mamdani’s critics have raised skepticism about his proposals, calling them far-fetched and improbable, as some would require state approval. He has also come under fire for his past comments criticizing the NYPD and Israeli government actions in the Gaza conflict.
The mayor-elect has apologized for his comments against the department and vowed to fight for Jewish New Yorkers, while still being critical of the Israeli government’s polices during the conflict.
Mamdani has also repeatedly brushed aside the threats and said he will continue to speak out against the administration’s conservative policies.
“His threats are inevitable,” Mamdani told ABC News a day after the election. “This has nothing to do with safety, it has to do with intimidation.”
At the same time, Mamdani has said he was open to talking with Trump, especially when it comes to affordability issues, noting that Trump won his re-election promising to bring down rising prices.
“I have many disagreements with the president. I intend to make it clear that I will work with him,” Mamdani said Thursday.
The mayor-elect won the election on a campaign to help New Yorkers with costs, with proposals such as raising the income tax on New Yorkers who earn over a million dollars a year, providing free child care to parents with kids as early as six weeks old, and free public buses.
Following Mamdani’s victory and other key wins by Democrats, Trump has said in social media posts and news conferences that he and the Republicans are the party working to lower costs.
“We’re fighting for an economy where everyone can win, from the cashier starting first job to a franchisee opening his first location to the young family in a drive through line,” he told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Monday.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Tonya Simpson contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Thursday marks the 30th day of the federal government shutdown and the American public has grown more concerned about the shutdown throughout the month and more disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the federal government, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
More Americans blame Trump and the Republicans in Congress than the Democrats for the shutdown, the poll finds.
Three-quarters of Americans say they are concerned about the government shutdown, up from two-thirds who said the same on the first day of the shutdown in a Washington Post poll. Now, 43% of Americans say that they are “very” concerned about the shutdown, up from 25% on Oct. 1.
Nearly half of Americans, 45%, say Trump and congressional Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, while 33% say congressional Democrats are responsible and another 22% are not sure. That is barely a shift from the Post’s poll on Oct. 1 when 47% blamed Trump and Republicans, 30% blamed Democrats and 23% were unsure at the onset of the shutdown.
Democrats are more united, saying that Trump and Republicans are to blame for the shutdown (81%) than Republicans saying Democrats are to blame (72%). Twice as many independents say Trump and Republicans are responsible (46%) than Democrats (23%).
Majorities across partisan lines say they are concerned about the shutdown: Nearly nine in 10 Democrats along with over seven in 10 independents and over six in 10 Republicans are concerned about the shutdown, but more Democrats say they are “very” concerned (62%) than independents (43%) or Republicans (26%).
Concern over the shutdown is higher among women, with 81% voicing concern, compared with 68% of men.
And a growing share of Americans disapprove of how Trump is managing the federal government. In all, 63% disapprove today, up from 57% in April and 54% in February. Just over a third (36%) approve in the most recent poll.
The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll asked Americans to explain why they think either Trump and Republicans or Democrats are to blame for the federal government shutting down. Here are some of their written responses:
“They won’t budge on the concerns of healthcare premiums skyrocketing for all Americans. He is not for all Americans, only his interests matter,” said a 65-year-old Democratic woman in Wisconsin.
“They seem more interested in keeping power than working for the country’s benefit,” said a 78-year-old Republican-leaning independent man in Oregon.
“They control all of the portions of the federal government,” said a 45-year-old Democratic man in Tennessee.
“Trump is the president and the Republicans hold the majority. Not only that, Speaker Johnson let out the House on vacation, and Trump/Republicans won’t even try to work with Democrats on the loss of healthcare funding that is going to hurt millions of people,” said a 34-year-old Democratic woman in Minnesota.
“Trump said it himself a few years ago that it’s the President’s job to bring the 2 sides together,” said a 59-year-old Democratic-leaning independent woman in Pennsylvania.
“President Trump and the Maga GOP are refusing to negotiate over the Affordable Care Act expiration regardless of the negative impact on many of their supporters and they have no alternative plans for keeping the cost of healthcare from rising,” said a 69-year-old Democratic woman in Virginia.
“The Republicans control Congress. They won’t negotiate. Of course they’re responsible. We cannot take healthcare away from millions of Americans,” said a 40-year-old Democratic woman in Iowa.
“They refuse to negotiate in good faith,” said a 78-year-old Democratic-leaning independent man in Ohio.
Among those blaming Democrats:
“They want healthcare for illegal immigrants to be paid for out of my pocket. Not right,” said a 78-year-old Republican woman in Oregon.
“Because they will not budge,” said a 37-year-old Republican-leaning independent woman in Arizona.
“They want to negotiate subsidies on health care, but they do not want to conduct the negotiation within the relevant House and Senate committees. They are holding all of the government hostage over one issue,” said a 78-year-old Republican man in South Carolina.
“They voted down the continuation resolutions multiple times,” said a 56-year-old Republican-leaning independent man in Nebraska.
“The Democrats are the ones who will not budge on coming to an agreement,” said a 43-year-old independent woman in Texas.
“The Democrats have supported the items in the continuing resolution and are demanding things that continue to build the debt,” said a 69-year-old Republican-leaning independent man in California.
“Republicans offered and passed a clean bill with no Republican additions and Democrats continually vote no,” said a 76-year-old Republican man in Texas.
Methodology: This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® Oct. 24-28, 2025, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,725 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, including the design effect. Error margins are larger for subgroups.
