- Pro-Trump cattle ranchers accuse the administration of hypocrisy after Trump promises action against meatpackers while hiring a former Tyson executive at USDA.
- Ranchers fiercely oppose Trump’s plan to import Argentine beef, calling it a betrayal that could undercut U.S. producers and harm prices.
- Rising beef prices, tiny U.S. herds, and labeling loopholes fuel distrust that Trump’s “America First” promises aren’t protecting ranchers.
President Donald Trump’s latest push to tackle skyrocketing beef prices has backfired spectacularly among some of his staunchest supporters—American cattle ranchers—who are now openly revolting against his administration’s mixed signals on protecting the industry.
It all exploded this week when Meriwether Farms, a vocal pro-Trump beef company known for its MAGA-friendly branding, fired off a scathing public demand on X (formerly Twitter) calling for the immediate ouster of a top USDA official.
Their target? Justin Ransom, a former Tyson Foods executive recently hired to oversee meat label regulations, despite his old employer’s massive price-fixing settlements.
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“Dear Secretary Rollins: Now that President Trump has formally requested an investigation into the meat packing companies who have committed price fixing and price manipulation, does this mean you are going to fire the former Tyson Foods (a company that just settled an $85M price fixing lawsuit for pork consumers and $55M price fixing lawsuit for beef consumers) executive you hired who oversees every packing plant in the country?” the company posted.
“Asking on behalf of every producer and consumer in the country.”
Official Statement from Trump
This isn’t just random griping. Meriwether Farms has been a loud Trump booster for years, but they’re furious over what they see as outright hypocrisy.
Trump’s announcement last week—ordering the Department of Justice to launch a criminal probe into meatpacking giants for allegedly colluding to inflate prices—sounded like red meat for ranchers.
On Truth Social, he raged: “We will always protect our American Ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by Majority Foreign Owned Meat Packers, who artificially inflate prices, and jeopardize the security of our Nation’s food supply.
Action must be taken immediately to protect Consumers, combat Illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American People.
I am asking the DOJ to act expeditiously.”
But ranchers like those at Meriwether aren’t buying it. Why? Because while Trump talks tough on “foreign-owned” packers (think Brazil’s JBS dominating the market), his USDA just handed a plum job to Ransom, who spent years at Tyson pushing “climate-friendly” beef labels that critics slam as greenwashing nonsense.
And Tyson’s rap sheet? They shelled out $85 million for pork price-fixing and another $55 million for beef scams.
Now this guy is in charge of ensuring labels are honest? Ranchers smell a rat.
Keep scrolling—this gets juicier.
Ranchers Call Betrayal
The backlash ties straight into Trump’s earlier bombshell plan to flood the U.S. with cheap beef from Argentina, which he pitched as a quick fix for grocery bills hammered by record-low cattle herds and his own tariffs jacking up costs.
That idea sparked outright chaos: Ranchers called it a “betrayal,” cattle futures tanked, and even Republican senators from beef states confronted Trump, warning it could “decimate” American producers.
Meriwether Farms led the charge, blasting the Argentina imports as a slap in the face to U.S. ranchers already squeezed by droughts, labor shortages from deportations, and those sky-high input costs from tariffs.
One industry CEO told NBC News the plan “only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices.”
Trump fired back on social media, insisting ranchers “don’t understand” how his tariffs on Brazil saved their butts, and doubling down on the DOJ probe.
But the damage is done. MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones nailed it this week: Even pro-Trump outfits like Meriwether are done playing nice, demanding heads roll at USDA while the president juggles probes, imports, and bailouts for foreign countries.
What’s really grinding gears? Beef prices are through the roof—up double-digits in some cuts—thanks to the smallest U.S. herds in decades.
Trump’s team rolled out longer-term fixes like more grazing land and deregulating small processors, but ranchers say that’s too little, too late when foreign beef could undercut them tomorrow.
And here’s the kicker: Groups warn Argentine “beef” might actually be rerouted from tariff-hit Brazil or even lower-quality sources, slipping through labeling loopholes.
No mandatory “Product of USA” tags means consumers get fooled, and American ranchers get screwed.
As one South Dakota rancher put it to MSNBC: Trump has “no idea what he is talking about.”
With MAGA ranchers now leading the revolt, this beef war is far from over.
Will Trump clean house at USDA, ditch the imports, and actually deliver for the heartland that put him back in office? Or is this just the latest sign his America First promises are getting lost in the sauce?
Also Read: A DOJ Whistleblower Now Makes Revelation That Undermines the Judicial System’s Integrity
