Trump: Farmers 'so lucky I gave you that privilege' to vote for me for president

While ticking through rural initiatives and policy promises during a speech Monday in Nashville to thousands of farmers, President Donald Trump again evoked his 2016 election victory.

"Oh, are you happy you voted for me. You are so lucky I gave you that privilege. The other choice wasn’t going to work out well for the farmers, I hate to tell you," Trump said, to some cheers.

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While some attending the speech applauded, the president's comment faced immediate criticism from a few Trump opponents.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Who talks like this…This isn’t America. This is the stuff of banana republics,” tweeted Walter Shaub, former director of the office of government ethics, in response to the president’s statement.

Although he never said her name, Trump referenced Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton several times, along with specifically calling out congressional Democrats, during the roughly 40-minute speech.

He said Democrats fought his landmark but controversial tax bill, saying some wanted to raise taxes by as much as 60 percent. He also blasted Democratic support for the estate tax, a tax on wealth transferred from one generation to the next.

Conservatives frequently say the tax, sometimes referred to as the "death tax," unfairly hurts farmers and small-business owners. But Trump critics note any reduction in the tax could be a windfall for the president and other wealthy families in the country.

Trump spoke Monday afternoon at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 99th annual convention.

Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@tennessean.com or 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.