Trump Boasts of Economic Deal With Europe’s ‘Last Dictator’ to Blunt Cost of Trade War on US Farmers

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Monday that he is “working on a massive Deal” with Belarus to help ease the economic pain his trade war with Canada is causing U.S. farmers.

“The United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of Potash from Belarus. The pricing would be for substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our Farmers and Ranchers. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted on Monday.

The leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, is widely known as “Europe’s last dictator” given his iron grip on power in the country since 1994. He has long been accused of egregious human rights abuses, with the UN arguing in February that his government has committed “crimes against humanity.”

A UN report on the situation in Belarus recently “found that men and women in detention had been routinely subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shocks and threats to rape not only detainees but their partners as well. Security forces displayed marked brutality towards LGBTIQ+ individuals, using physical violence and dehumanizing language.”

Last August, after Trump praised Lukashenko on social media, CNN’s Aaron Blake noted, “The Trump State Department in 2020 said it did not recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus, citing a rigged election. Today, Trump calls Lukashenko ‘the highly respected President of Belarus.'”

Canada is the world’s largest exporter of potash, a key component in modern-day agriculture. Trump’s trade war with Canada has disrupted the U.S. market for the fertilizer component, which farmers and ranchers need to keep their businesses going.

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