President Trump's trip to Chippewa Falls on June 5 marked the first time in over 20 years a sitting president has visited the western Wisconsin city. Rural America consistently showed out to support the president during his campaigns; it is perhaps unsurprising Trump looks to rally those communities' support toward Republicans up for election this year, including Wisconsin's Derrick Van Orden (pictured far right).

Six months ahead of the midterm elections and less than one week into Dairy Month, President Donald Trump made his first second-term visit to America’s Dairyland, arriving to western Wisconsin’s Custer Farms (5852 Co. Rd. T, Chippewa Falls) for an event on June 5.

Organized as an agriculture-focused roundtable, the event was scheduled to begin at 3pm inside Custer Farms’ large pole barn, though supporters of the Trump administration – and protestors – arrived hours earlier.

By 11am, a couple hundred people had gathered at the Chippewa County farm. Inside the pole barn, 800-1,000 seats were available to a mix of those with tickets and with reserved spots.

Trump stepped up to the roundtable stage just before 4pm to join a lineup of anticipated – and unexpected – figures: U.S. Representative and Wisconsin governor hopeful Tom Tiffany; Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien); Senator Ron Johnson (who had not visited Chippewa Falls since 2022); Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins; Custer Farms owner Ken Custer; former Leinenkugel’s President Thomas "Jake" Leinenkugel; NFL Hall of Famer and Wisconsin farm owner Joe Thomas; Olympian speed skater Jordan Stolz, among others.

Just outside the barn, some 500 more people stood behind a barricade hoping to see the president. When an adjacent garage door opened into the barn just before the roundtable began – and after heavy rain rattled on the roof and onto those folks outside – many were able to do so.

On-and-off rain showers throughout the day, with a crowd roughly 1,000 deep, made for a humid event on June 5.

Chippewa Valley locals and supporters who traveled to see Trump speak gathered at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, pictured above.

While organized as an ag-focused conversation, Trump spoke for about 45 minutes straight (earlier in the afternoon, before 3pm, a prayer was led by Birch Street Baptist Church pastor Tim Hallett Jr. and the National Anthem was sung), mostly on other, myriad topics.

He began by hitting the midterm elections right away.

“Hopefully you’re gonna be voting Republican because, frankly, what I’m seeing from Democrats, if they win, this country is finished,” Trump said. “I hate to say that you have no choice, but I don’t think you have much of a choice.”

“The Dumocrats … their policy is just outstandingly bad and it’s really bad for the farmer,” he told the crowd.

The president pivoted between a range of topics, including beautification projects in Washington, DC. He addressed the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, manufacturing and construction job creation, border security and the ongoing war in Iran (which he referred to as an “excursion,” “military conflict”) with promises of post-war economic relief, among others.

Trump held up pieces of paper with images of beautification projects (Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, pictured) he highlighted during the event. Notably, Trump's visit to Chippewa Falls – which included Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins – followed Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s trip to Elk Mound on June 1.

As reported by the Associated Press, WPR and other outlets, Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin criticized the Trump administration and its impact on Wisconsin farmers ahead of the June 5 event.

“The truth is that Wisconsin farmers have been hit really hard by Donald Trump’s MAGA agenda, by the tariffs, the trade wars, and his totally unnecessary and illegal war in Iran,” Baldwin said.

She said Trump's Chippewa Falls visit won't “do the job in convincing our farmers they are doing better than they’re doing. They know the reality.”

On June 3, a new Marquette Law School national survey found a dual decline in both the Democratic lead on general congressional ballots and in Trump's overall approval rating, now down to 38%.

On the issues of national gas prices and the war in Iran, a majority of respondents did not approve of the president’s handling of either issue. 95% of respondents said gas prices were up, with 19% approving of Trump’s handling of the situation; 28% of respondents said the war in Iran has been worth the cost.

Still, 71% of Republicans said they would vote for a primary candidate backed by Trump. However, with his overall support rating declining, that rate now sits at the lowest it's been since being reelected to the White House.

The Marquette poll was conducted at the end of May 2026 and can be viewed in full online.

On agriculture

As he pivoted back to ag-focused topics, Trump addressed the current increased pricing of goods, including fuel, fertilizer and energy, as well as trade agreements which could benefit American farmers and businesses.

“We’re at a point where we’re gonna come out of Iran very quickly and (we’re) gonna be very strong. One way or the other; whether it’s a piece of paper or the very tough way,” he said, “and your fertilizer prices are gonna go way down, just like they were four months ago.”

The president sounded off trade-related investments he says the United States is receiving from countries including Japan, Australia, the EU and others, though specific trade deal items or sectors were not named.

Jake Leinenkugel, pictured speaking alongside Farm Creek farmer Matt Krenz (far left), Jamie Witcpalek (Pagel's Ponderosa Dairy), was one of the regionally-tied business owners part of the discussion. Leinenkugel, former president of the Jacob Leinenkugel Company (1989-2014) thanked farmers for their work and ingredients used in the beer brewing process. 

About a dozen politicians and regional farmers and business owners sat at the event's roundtable. Their comments made up about 15 minutes of the June 5 event, following Trump's roughly 45-minute speech.

Trump also discussed those items he has signed into law, including the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, stating it would reopen pathways – for American farmers to provide whole milk to schools – previously restricted by Obama-era laws.

Others included the Trump administration's expansion of crop insurance – as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) – and removal of the estate tax or “death tax,” the Right to Repair Act, among others.

However, while Trump stated the “average farm income for agricultural producers in our country have skyrocketed by more than 20%” during his first year back in the White House, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported 2025 was not as strong of a rebound as initially projected.

As 2026 progresses, farmers still face higher production costs, declining commodity sales and even with federal assistance – a short-term, impermanent solution – the only thing certain, is uncertainty.

Following the roundtable's conclusion, Volume One asked local farmers Jake Rooney (Ranch Brand Meat Co.), Steve Rooney (Rooney Grain) and Dennis Hawkins (Solhawk Dairy) for their thoughts on the event. All three declined to comment.

Event attendees streamed out of the Custer Farms pole barn following the roundtable's conclusions, while others lingered and spoke with present political figures including Tom Tiffany, Derrick Van Orden, Senator Romaine Quinn (R-Birchwood), among others.

Looking ahead

Wisconsin rolls into primary and fall elections as the “ultimate swing state,” with a number of significant wins for Democrats in the past several months: five state legislative seats flipped from Republican to Democrat (zero have flipped in the opposite direction, thus far).

Just a few months ago, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Chris Taylor's win over Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar sealed the court's liberal majority through at least 2030. (Western Wisconsin proved significant for Taylor, securing at least 68% of the vote in both Eau Claire and La Crosse.)

Close to home, in the Chippewa Valley, one of the closest-watched state races – the U.S. Representative seat for the 3rd Congressional District, currently held by Van Orden – is anticipated to be a rematch between Van Orden and Democrat Rebecca Cooke (who still has to face former Eau Claire City Council president Emily Berge in the primary election).

In the 2024 general election, Cooke lost to Van Orden by less than 3%.

The national implications of that race's result adds a different kind of weight to Trump's Chippewa Falls visit and backing of Van Orden.

“(Van Ordern is) in a little bit of a community that tends to be on, slightly, a little bit more than we want, to the left,” the president said. “But he loves them all and he's very popular, and he's gonna win by a lot.”

Following the roundtable, Rep. Van Orden (pictured) answered questions from local and regional reporters. Volume One asked about his working relationship with the Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) – headquartered in Chippewa Falls, less than 10 miles from Custer Farms – which he said is untenable due to the organization's becoming "hyper political," "leftist." WFU President, Darin Von Ruden, has supported Cooke publicly (he was part of Cooke's advisory council as of 2025), Van Orden's continued opponent for the 3rd Congressional District seat.

Later this fall, the currently crowded race for governor (on the left, that is; U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is the Republican-endorsed candidate) presents a seismic opportunity; a resetting of the table, in many ways, for Wisconsin.

In addition to being the first gubernatorial race since 2010, as Gov. Tony Evers plans for retirement, there are also openings for Assembly Speaker and Senate Majority Leader – both positions currently held by Republicans, Robin Vos and Devin LeMahieu, respectively – among others.

Plus, in 2024, Gov. Evers redrew state maps that were then approved by Republicans, bolstering the Democrats' shot at gaining control of both the Senate and Assembly.

The roundtable event hosted in Chippewa Falls was livestreamed and is available in full online, including through PBS News on YouTube (Trump enters and officially begins the event around the 55-minute mark).

Additional local coverage of the June 5 presidential event in Chippewa Falls can be found through WQOW News 18, WEAU News 13, Wisconsin Public Radio and others.