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Trump Considering $10 Billion Bailout for American Farmers; Israel, Hamas Make Progress in First Two Days of Talks; Country Singer Zach Bryan Calls Out ICE in New Song. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 07, 2025 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: When it comes to President Trump's trade war, few Americans have been hit as hard as farmers. The tariffs and China's retaliation have really been a gut punch, especially for soybean farmers. Now, soybeans are America's largest agricultural export, worth more than $24 billion last year.

About half of that went to China. This year, that number is effectively zero after Beijing imposed 20 percent tariffs on U.S. soybeans in retaliation for tariffs on Chinese goods. And as you can imagine, that means farmers are really hurting right now.

President Trump is said to be considering a bailout of at least $10 billion for farmers. The concern, though, that may be too little too late for some. According to court data, farm bankruptcies actually rose in the first half of the year to the highest level since 2021.

Scott Brown is a soybean farmer in Arkansas and is joining us now. Scott, it's good to have you with us. So just first of all, where are you in this moment? How is your farm doing?

SCOTT BROWN, SOYBEAN FARMER: I hope to break even, but I mean, we don't know. We're not cutting soybeans yet, and I don't know what the yield is. We're just finishing up corn.

I'm a pretty low debt load farmer. I farm 800 acres. My equipment's all paid for.

I do it all by myself. I'm a first-generation farmer, so I don't have as big of problems as a lot of the guys do. But I mean, I have friends that farm thousands of acres, 5,000, 10,000, 11,000 acres.

They've got worlds of problems. I mean, I don't know that there's any way to yield yourself out of it.

HILL: So what does that mean for some of your friends? Does that mean they could ultimately lose everything?

BROWN: Yes, ma'am. I mean, I don't think that the average American understands when you go down to the bank and get a crop loan, you've put all your equipment up, all your equity in your ground. You've put your home up, your pickup truck, everything up. And if they can't pay out and if they've rolled over any debt from last year, they're going to call the auctioneer, and they're going to line everything up, and they're going to sell it.

HILL: So if there were a bailout, right, which the president is apparently considering, what would that mean?

BROWN: Well, the stopgap needs to come because they've kind of painted the farmer in a corner. I mean, I want trade, not aid. I need a market.

I need a place to sell this stuff. I can work hard enough and make a product. If you give me some place to sell it, I'll take care of myself.

[15:35:00]

But they've painted us in a corner with this China deal and China buying no soybeans. I mean, they've tore our market in half.

I mean, if you take the four years prior to Trump's first tariff war, the average price of a bushel of soybeans is $12.54. The average price for the four years during Trump's first tariff war is $9.39. That's $163 an acre swing to the minus. The next four years after the tariff war, the average price is $13.59. That's a $218 upswing. Now we're back to $10.21. I think the board is today. My local elevator is $9.79, so I'm at $172 an acre loss. I mean, you can't -- the farmer can't continue to produce a crop below the cost of production, and that's where we're at. And we don't have anywhere to sell it.

We're in a tariff war with China. We're in a tariff war with everybody else. I mean, where do they want me to market this stuff?

HILL: The question, too, becomes, I mean, not only are you dealing with the whiplash, right, especially with the numbers you point out and what you're dealing with and the uncertainty about what's going to happen with your crop this year. There's also the planning for next year. Have you even been able to think about what that could mean for you next year if, in fact, this continues?

BROWN: Well, it depends on if you pay out or not. I mean, farming is done in a Russian roulette fashion, to say the best of words. If you pay out, then you get to go again.

If you've got enough equity and you don't pay out, you can roll over debt. There's lots of guys farming that have between $400,000 and $700,000 worth of rollover debt, you know, and then you compound the problem with the tariffs. Look at this.

When we had USAID, we provided 40 percent of the humanitarian food for the world. That's all grain and food bought from farmers, from vegetable farmers in the United States to row crop farmers in grain and everything. So we abandoned that deal, and China accelerates there.

So now I've got a tariff war that's killing my market. I don't have any money that grain we're sending to other countries for USAID. I mean, I've got a compound problem.

I don't know how you plan for next year because we don't know where we're at. You know, we're in limbo. We don't know what's coming.

We don't know what kind of stopgap we're going to get. We don't know what kind of farm bill we're going to have. I mean, you've got the entire farming world in uncertainty right now.

And we need certainty. Farmers like certainty. Everything to work steady.

HILL: You have enough uncertainty when it comes to the weather and everything else. The last thing you need is to add to that. You mentioned you need trade, not aid.

So many farmers who I have spoken with or their trade groups over the last several months have said the exact same thing to me. They don't want to be in this position of needing any sort of a bailout. They just want to be able to do business.

Do you believe that soybean farmers can actually survive if there isn't an export market for the U.S.?

BROWN: No, ma'am, we can't. We can't. With the crush we have, you know, crushing the soybeans and making the oil, we produce too much. We produce 40 percent more than we can consume because agriculture has got us in this model where we have to overproduce to pay out. So it's all about yield now.

And, you know, it used to be you yield 150 bushels of corn. Now you yield 300. Well, we yield so much crop that we yield 40 percent more than we can consume in the United States.

So I have to have a market abroad. Otherwise, what are we going to do with the other 40 percent?

HILL: Do you think your message and your reality, frankly, is being heard by the president?

BROWN: I hope so. I don't know. I mean, I hope he's listening because, you know, agriculture is the backbone of rural America.

For every dollar in agriculture, you get $8 in your rural community. I mean, we help pay taxes on schools, roads. We're the guys that keeps the parts store open.

We're the guys that keeps the local co-op open that 20 guys work at. In the little town I live in, we have a chicken plant, about 600 chicken houses. Except for the school and the hospital, almost our entire town of 7,000 people's economy revolves around agriculture.

I mean, I think he needs to listen. It's bigger than the farmer. It's all my friends, whether they work in town or anything else.

I mean, rural America depends on agriculture. And it doesn't matter if you're in Nebraska or you're in Arkansas. HILL: Yes, clearly. Scott, we appreciate you taking the time to join us, and please keep us posted. Thank you.

Just ahead here, on the second anniversary of the October 7th attack, as mediation talks between Israel and Hamas resume, President Trump is now meeting with former hostage Edan Alexander at the White House. That's next.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Day two of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks, and sources in Egypt tell CNN that both sides have made progress in the negotiations. The signs of forward movement come on the day that Israel marks the second anniversary of Hamas' deadly attack that claimed the lives of 1,200 Israelis and saw more than 250 taken hostage.

Just moments ago, President Trump marked the occasion with a visit by Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Alexander is an IDF soldier who was captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, then released last May after 584 days in captivity.

[15:45:00]

He's believed to be the last remaining Israeli-American hostage.

Joining us now is Ambassador Richard Haass, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the author of The World, A Brief Introduction. Ambassador, thanks so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

Do you view these talks as the last opportunity for a negotiated peace, or are you optimistic that there will be a positive outcome?

RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT EMERITUS, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: It's never the last opportunity in diplomacy. It's simply the current opportunity. I don't think we're talking about peace between Israelis and Palestinians, no matter how optimistic you are.

I think you're looking at something considerably more limited, but still impressive and significant if it happens, which is essentially a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages, living hostages, as well as the remains and bodies of those who were dead, to Israel. Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons. Israeli Defense Forces would pull back.

I think there's a pretty good chance. Nothing's ever certain. Nothing's over until it's over.

But I think both sides, both Israelis and Hamas, have reasons to go along. And the administration, the Trump administration, is clearly pushing very hard. So I think the stars are somewhat lined up.

But, you know, one thing you learn in the Middle East is never to let your optimism get ahead of reality.

SANCHEZ: On the reasons for Israel's desire to get a deal done, former Israeli consul Alon Pincus told my colleague Audie Cornish that he believes Netanyahu is being cornered into accepting the plan. Do you see it that way?

HAASS: Well, to some extent. Politically, he can't afford to get it across purposes with President Trump, who has a lot of popularity in Israel. There's also enormous pressure in Israel to bring the hostages home.

There's a lot of opposition to continued war. Plus, you're going to have elections in Israel, my guess is, probably within six months. And for Prime Minister Netanyahu, who up to now has waged a war over the last two years, much of which was supported in Israel against Iran, against Hezbollah.

We saw the regime change in Syria, also initially the war against Hamas. If he can now say he not only waged war, but he's brought the hostages back, then I think he's got a very good chance of actually being reelected. So my sense is that his calculations now lead him to want this to happen.

SANCHEZ: What about Hamas? Is there any chance that they would actually relinquish control of Gaza? And if so, who might replace them?

HAASS: Well, I think there's a chance they would go along with the initial points in this agreement, agree to a ceasefire, agree to release the hostages. I do not believe there's any serious chance they would give up all their weapons. They will simply stash them somewhere where people can't find.

They can blend back into the population. You can't eliminate Hamas as a political factor in Gaza. So my sense is they will play for time.

They will probably go along with this agreement. My guess is also it's a condition of their continuing to receive financial help from Qatar and other countries. But this is not the last we will hear from Hamas.

They will remain a factor, in part because the rest of Palestinian leadership is so weak and divided.

SANCHEZ: And Ambassador, given that we're at the two-year mark of the terrorist attack and then the launching of this war, what are your reflections on this conflict?

HAASS: Going back two years, you know, what happened two years ago never should have succeeded. For the second time in its history, Israel was surprised more by its own excessive confidence than anything else. What Hamas carried out was horrific by any and every standard of human behavior and decency.

But I think where Israel got it wrong was not on October 8th, if you will, in their initial response to Hamas, but on October 9th and 10th and 11th, essentially continuing to use military force, often against civilians, without introducing a political dimension to their policy, and in the process, isolating itself from many of its traditional supporters in the West, as well as in the United States.

[15:50:00]

So the real question now, I think, two years on, is, again, whether we can get these hostages home, whether we can get a ceasefire, and whether Israel can begin the process of recovering its reputation, and whether diplomats, and I think it's a long shot, can build on any limited agreement and begin to get more ambitious down the road. Because, again, even if we succeed in stopping this war in Gaza and getting the hostages back, that's a small percentage of the work to be done for reconciling or bridging the differences between Israelis and Palestinians.

SANCHEZ: Ambassador Richard Haass, thank you so much for joining us.

HAASS: Thank you all.

SANCHEZ: Country music superstar Zach Bryan getting political. What he says about the ongoing immigration crackdown when we come back.

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[15:55:00]

SANCHEZ: Breaking news to CNN on a story we've been tracking all afternoon. The air traffic control facility responsible for flights approaching and departing Nashville International Airport are set to close for five hours tonight because of short staffing.

The Federal Aviation Administration says that flights will still be allowed to continue flying during the closure, but pilots are going to have to contact the regional air traffic control center for permission to enter the airspace.

HILL: So the reason being given for the staff shortage, that's not immediately clear. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, though, did say on Monday an increased number of controllers have been calling out sick since the start of the shutdown. So we'll continue to follow all of those developments for you.

Meantime, one of the biggest country music stars is maybe stepping into the political debate over nationwide ICE raids. Grammy Award winner Zach Bryan releasing a snippet of a new song on his social media, which seems to call out the government. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACH BRYAN, COUNTY SINGER, GRAMMY AWARD WINNER: And ICE is going to come. Bust down your door. Try to build a house no one builds no more, but I got a telephone. Kids are all scared and all alone.

The bar stopped bumping, the rock stopped rolling, the middle fingers rising, and it won't stop showing. Got some bad news. The fading of the red, white and blue. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The minute long teaser of his upcoming single Bad News is already getting backlash. You're a DHS assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, writing on X, quote, Stick to pink skies, dude.

Chris Wilman, chief music critic for Variety, joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us, Chris. What do you make of these lyrics about ice busting down your door?

CHRIS WILLMAN, SENIOR MUSIC WRITER AND CHIEF MUSIC CRITIC, VARIETY: Well, I mean, I think people should maybe not be too quick to judge -- to rush to judgment on what the whole song will be like, because it's one verse out of a song. And Zach Bryan often does character songs where he's not exactly speaking, you know, his exact point of view. So, you know, the wider song will give us context.

But it does sound like, you know, ICE going to bust down your door. That doesn't sound like a pro ICE sentiment. So, you know, country music fans, especially even though Zach doesn't identify strictly as a country singer, that's where a lot of his audience is.

And a lot there is a faction of those people who are very conservative, who are very quick to sort of seize on a gotcha moment if they think that one of the singers they consider part of that genre has turned snowflake on them, which we're certainly seeing in the comments.

HILL: Well, there's there's also what was what was posted on the Instagram was the last line of what we heard there. I believe it's the fading of the red, white and blue. I would imagine that is certainly sparking some reaction as well.

But to your point, the fact that Zach Bryan doesn't want to be put in one of those camps, right? A perhaps a genre camp when it comes to his music. But he also doesn't seem to want to be put into a camp full stop in terms of what he believes or who he is. Meaning --

WILLMAN: That's right. He's been very nonpartisan. Yes, yes.

So you might look at that and say, OK, if you've lost Zach Bryan on the ICE issue, but he has tried so hard to be nonpolitical, then maybe you've lost a lot of people with what ICE doing. And he's come out and said, you know, in the past, I don't support the Republicans, the Democrats. I don't support Trump or Biden.

But, you know, he did he did post a very pro Trump statement after the assassination attempt on Trump, saying he thought it was great that Trump was, you know, bumping his fist in the air. So that that suggests to a lot of people that he might lean toward the conservative side or certainly center right. And so, you know, the fact that he has come out with something now that seems to tip in the other direction has surprised a lot of people.

And they're saying, oh, maybe you've been hanging out with Bruce Springsteen too much or something. SANCHEZ: Chris, you mentioned a moment ago the comments. Let's hope no one that is at his level of talent is looking at the comments. But I do wonder what folks are saying, how the reception among his fans looks.

WILLMAN: Yes, well, people have invoked the specter of the Dixie chicks directly. There's been a phrase around for a long time that you've been Dixie chicked. If you've said something that turns your fan base against you.

And so I'm seeing that phrase pop up a lot in the comments from people who are saying, yes, we are Dixie chicking you. You've lost me as a fan.

Whether those are real fans talking like that. Who knows? You know, he just set a record for concert attendance last week with one hundred and ten thousand people in the stadium.

How many of those people would not show up now because of these comments? Probably a pretty small amount, but significant enough. You know, an artist doesn't want to lose any fans.

So, you know, we'll see how serious that backlash is. But the comments are rough, certainly.

SANCHEZ: Chris Willman, appreciate the perspective. Thanks for joining us.

[16:00:00]

WILLMAN: You bet.

SANCHEZ: So fans of LeBron James and the NBA in general had a bit of a maybe a heart stopping moment or a bit of concern today.

HILL: We were all wondering.

SANCHEZ: Yes. He posted this thing online talking about a second decision coming today. Well, it turned out just to be an ad.

HILL: I think we got played, Boris. I'm going to say it. I'm saying it out loud.

SANCHEZ: We did.

HILL: So, yes, fueling retirement rumors. The price of Lakers tickets skyrocketed when we learned there was going to be an announcement today. Hearkening back, of course, was 2010 announcement to join the Miami Heat, Boris, during a live TV special titled The Decision.

In the end, it was an ad for Hennessy.

SANCHEZ: Great first decision. Second decision, I don't know.

"THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

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