During an interview aired on Thursday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that President Donald Trump “fully understands that the Chin[ese] purchasing of our farmland is a significant problem.” But also “didn’t want to shut any doors to the opportunity our farmers may have to make money.” And thinks it’s “really problematic” for China to own farmland near military bases.
Host Blake Burman asked, “You talk about national security. One of the big stories that we’ve covered here on NewsNation a lot is Chinese farmland and how much of it there is all across the country in so many different states. You’ve called it a national security issue. Earlier this year, you called it a quote-unquote perilous threat. But then President Trump went to China just a few weeks later after that, and he said this:”
Burman then played video of President Donald Trump remarking on Chinese farmland before asking, “He basically supported it after meeting face to face with Xi Jinping. So, after we had been told from the administration for so long about this being a national security threat and a perilous threat, what happened?”
Rollins answered, “Well, listen, the President, at his heart — and every time he’s talking about farmers, his mind always goes to how do I best protect my farmers? Those are his words, Brooke, what are we doing to protect my farmers? As a real estate guy, I think, from his perspective, he didn’t want to shut any doors to the opportunity our farmers may have to make money. But I have talked to him at length about this. He absolutely agrees that China owning our farmland around our military bases is really problematic, that we have to be able, through private property rights and — we just brought John Rich on the team to fight for private property rights.”
Burman then cut in to ask, “So, what’s the balance here? Because if he’s making the economic argument, but then there’s also a national security argument, how would you describe it tonight?”
Rollins responded, “Well, how I would describe it tonight is it’s obviously an ongoing conversation, but that Americans are very concerned by this. And as we see China continuing to purchase our ag. companies, they control our seed patents, that it is a national security issue. But one that, like President Trump always does, that we will, of course, balance with what he believes is best for the country. But there’s no doubt he fully understands that the Chin[ese] purchasing of our farmland is a significant problem.”
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