On Friday’s episode of Erin Burnett OutFront, CNN correspondent Jeff Zeleny spoke with Franz Rowland, a Southern Georgia farmer who cast his ballot for President Donald Trump in 2024, as he pressed the White House to “hurry up” on fixing the economy, warning that “we can’t stand this much.”
“I don’t know who dropped the ball in Washington to allow these prices, this trade, to diminish like it has,” said Rowland, 72, “but somebody dropped the ball. Somebody wasn’t looking out for us.”
“Trump says, you know, ‘Be patient. The farmers are gonna be better than ever,’” he added. “Well, you’d better hurry up. Because we can’t, we can’t stand this much.”
As Zeleny reported, Rowland supported Trump “hoping a stronger economy and better trade deals would follow.” Instead, rising costs, weak agricultural markets, and uncertainty around trade policy have left him increasingly frustrated as inflation and input prices continue to squeeze family farms.
Asked how it feels to hear Washington lawmakers insist the U.S. economy is thriving, Rowland didn’t hold back. “They need to come out here and live in my shoes. The economy may be doing better for some people, but on the farm, it ain’t doing better.”
“I thought by now,” he said, “we’d have some really good trade. I did think it would be better by now.”
According to Zeleny, Rowland also told CNN that “he does not see a light at the end of the tunnel here as he thinks about planting season coming up.” While the Georgia farmer said he is “grateful for the government assistance,” he stressed that “farmers want trade, not aid,” underscoring ongoing concerns about long-term economic stability, agricultural exports, and market access.
The segment aired as a new CNN poll found that 58% of Americans describe Trump’s first year back in office as a “failure.” The survey also showed that roughly 64% of respondents believe the president has not done enough to reduce the cost of everyday goods and services, a key cost-of-living issue, with about half of Republicans agreeing, including 42% of GOP voters aligned with the “Make America Great Again” movement.
Watch the clip below via CNN.
