. . .
The strategy may help shore up farmers’ support for Mr. Trump before the 2020 election, but it leaves them with a perplexing question: What does success ultimately look like?
Despite the strain on Mr. Goplin’s family bank account and peace of mind, he backs the president’s tactics. “I get why he’s doing it,” he said over the tractor’s whir and beeps. “America has been bullied.” And if the trade war persisted through the election next year, he added, “I would be O.K. with that.”
Federal help is “very important,” Mr. Goplin said. The administration’s previous $12 billion package of emergency aid meant the difference between profit and loss on his soybeans.
Judging whether an agreement will prove worth the cost, though, is trickier to calculate. Several farmers said that if Mr. Trump declared he had struck a good deal with China, they would take his word for it.
“I don’t think he’ll flinch until he gets what he wants,” said Lorenda Overman, a crop and pig farmer in eastern North Carolina. “He doesn’t mind playing hardball.”
