WISCONSIN -- In response to Mike Pence’s announced visit to La Crosse, Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden released the following statement:

“Trump and Pence have relentlessly attacked Wisconsin workers and farmers since taking office, from falsely claiming they were “over the hump” as thousands of farms declared bankruptcy to engaging in a costly and ineffective trade war with China that caused the Badger state to bleed jobs. Wisconsin has lost over 2,000 dairy farms since Trump took office, with a record 818 closing in 2019, and continues to lead the nation in farm bankruptcies. This administration has been completely void of any sort of plan or platform that will help farming families across the Badger state; all we've gotten the last four years are empty promises and no results. Pence’s visit to La Crosse is political theater when we need concrete action, and Wisconsinites are counting the hours until we can send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House to fix the problems that the Trump-Pence administration created and actually help Wisconsin farmers."

"As far as I’m concerned, Donald Trump is driving me out of business."

WISCONSIN -- Wisconsin Farmers Hans Breitenmoser Jr. and Craig Myhre, and Democratic Party of Wisconsin 2nd Vice Chair and 57th assembly district candidate Lee Snodgrass called out the pain that Donald Trump’s chaotic presidency has caused in Wisconsin, from inflaming racial injustice to trade wars to his handling of the coronavirus. Breitenmoser Jr., a dairy farmer and Lincoln County Board Supervisor, and Myhre, a grain farmer and part time mailman, have seen first hand the destruction Trump’s trade wars and failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic have done to their businesses and communities.

Snodgrass, who lives in the Appleton area, has also seen the damage Trump’s destructive policies have done to the state's manufacturers and main streets. These Wisconsinites make it clear that Trump has sown division and economic pain for four years, and Joe Biden’s leadership is desperately needed in the White House to build back the Badger state better..

Watch the full event here or read excerpts of what the speakers said below.

DPW Vice Chair and 57th assembly district candidate Lee Snodgrass: “I think Donald Trump’s visit today is quite harmful to the state of Wisconsin… he is counting on division because he thinks this division secures his base, and Wisconsin is going to show him that’s not how it works around here… A lot of people are realizing the things he has run on, the fires that he has stoked, the things that he has tried to do simply for photo ops, frankly, are not working for Wisconsin… I have friends who are business owners… Trump’s tariffs have made it such that it’s very very expensive to stay afloat, and you add the bungled response to the pandemic on top of that, and we have people who, as the weather gets cooler, are wondering if they'll be able to keep their doors open… When you think about how things could have been, experts are talking about how we’re not going to recover from this economy possibly until 2030, the damage that has been done is so so great. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris already in the very short time that they've been campaigning together, have shown that they are the party of unity and compassion, a party of actually listening to people, sitting down at the table, and looking for solutions… instead of basically looking for a photo-op and looking for a way to divide us further.”

Craig Myhre: “My crops are corn, soy beans, and hay… As we came out of some of the best grain prices we’ve had through the Obama administration, farming was doing well, then Trump got elected… and put on his tariffs on our exports… So things slowed down and got tougher, and then the pandemic came along and that was just putting salt in the wound. As far as I’m concerned, Mr. Trump is destroying agriculture. I really don’t understand how any farmers can support him. We are all struggling… I talk to many guys who are not sure how long they can hang on… As far as I’m concerned, Donald Trump is driving me out of business, so I’ve taken part time off for unemployment. Joe Biden, when elected, will straighten these issues out to get our trade issues straightened out. We need those markets. We need this pandemic to get straightened out. We need to come up with a plan to get our economy moving again… our farm supply co-ops are hurting, our implement dealers are hurting, our small towns are drying up, and agriculture is on the verge of implosion… We need better leadership. Joe Biden will provide some integrity to the office of the president again, and hopefully we can get this thing turned back around.”

John Drew: “It’s been a struggle, to be sure, for the last number of years... The Republicans have given a lot of lip service to the importance of small businesses, but their policies tend to favor large businesses… At some point you have to put your money where your mouth is, and I don't think the Republican party has been doing that… The Republican party has become the party of Trump… They've stated openly that their platform is that they'll help president trump achieve his agenda, regardless of what that agenda is.… It’s important for people to look at the platform, or lack thereof, of the parties, and also look at the track record… If you look at the drama and the chaos that we’ve had for the past four years, I think you'd have to say, a little less tweeting and a little more thoughtful low drama public policy. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have proven time and again that they're in public service not because they like the camera shined on them… they've been doing this because they are sincerely concerned about creating good public policy. If we are really serious about having people who are more interested in policy and less interested in politics, then I think the choice is clear.”