Iowa Republicans, you were duped by Donald Trump. Flimflammed. Bamboozled.

You should have known it early in 2017 when Trump stocked his Cabinet with anti-ethanol crusaders who did their best to water down government support for Iowa-grown green energy. The administration’s game of hide-and-seek with the Renewable Fuel Standard helped keep corn prices in the basement.

You must have at least had a clue last year when Trump shoved Iowa farmers and livestock producers onto the front lines of a multinational trade war. His action endangered vital export markets worth billions of dollars to Iowa, and his boast that trade wars could be easily won was just more snake oil.

Now, if you don’t know it, you must be a really slow learner. Trump’s proposed budget slashes the agriculture safety net, including $28 billion in cuts to crop insurance and commodity subsidies. It cuts or eliminates many USDA rural development and housing programs. But hey, it invests in broadband, just in case anyone is left in rural Iowa to use a computer.

This latest kick in the teeth comes just months after Trump signed the 2018 farm bill, by the way. A flimflam and a flip-flop!

That should be enough for Iowa farmers, at least, to re-evaluate their political decision-making for 2020. But that’s not all.

Trump promised in his presidential campaign announcement speech, no less, to protect Medicare and Social Security. Iowans who bought that line can be forgiven for not immediately realizing that Trump lies almost every time he opens his mouth. We certainly know that now, however, so the grace period is officially over.

The president’s budget would cut Medicare by a net $575 billion over 10 years. The claim is that the government will save that money by reducing the cost of prescription drug prices — and rooting out waste and fraud, naturally. But in politics, cuts are cuts — or don’t you remember when Trump and other Republicans were slamming Democrats’ Obamacare for “cutting” Medicare by building anticipated cost savings into the budget? Huh.

Then there’s Social Security. If Trump supporters in Iowa don’t care about anything else, they should care about the $25 billion Trump proposes to cut out of Social Security. There’s no dressing this up as a potential savings from efficiency — this simply cuts the benefit. Trump lied to you. His budget proves it.

Republicans profess to support reining in “entitlements” to curb runaway federal deficits and debt. But they usually at least imply they’ll cut only programs that middle-income white people don’t care about. If stiffing Grandma to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy doesn't raise your blood pressure, this should: Trump’s overall budget does not slow federal spending. Quite the contrary — it continues to explode the national debt and deficit by an estimated $1 trillion a year through 2022.

More:

By the way, Iowa seniors should be squealing about Sen. Joni Ernst’s proposal to let young adults siphon Social Security to pay for family leave. The long-term solvency of the program depends on more money coming in from younger workers, not less. Her plan acknowledges the need to support working parents who may lack access to quality, affordable child care. But using Social Security to pay for other spending goals smashes open that mythological “lock box.” Forget squealing — Republicans should run away shrieking.

Now, anyone who thinks Trump’s budget will actually be approved should check out some prime real estate that may be for sale on Pothole Lake in Des Moines. This budget may be pure fantasy, but it is still a statement of priorities. It’s the most obvious sign yet that this president believes he can keep on treating his Iowa supporters like toilet paper and they’ll keep on believing they’re smelling roses.

And he may be right. The latest Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows 81 percent of Republicans approve of the job Trump is doing as president and only 40 percent want to see GOP competition in the 2020 presidential race. Those red MAGA hats must cut off oxygen to the brain.

Sometimes, fraud victims are too embarrassed to admit they’ve been conned. They keep throwing their money away to keep up the appearance that they are in control. Predators depend on that false pride to keep fleecing their victims.

There’s an old saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. How many times will Trump keep fooling Iowa Republicans?

Interested in more hard-hitting opinions? Subscribe to the Des Moines Register today atdesmoinesregister.com/deal