As Iowa farmers worry, Trump to be greeted by business leaders, protesters in Dubuque County

William Petroski | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump discusses trade after announcing $12 billion in aid for farmers hit by tariffs President Donald Trump will meet at the White House with a group of 13 farm-state Republican senators and representatives to talk about trade.

Business leaders, educators and protesters plan to greet President Donald Trump Thursday in northeast Iowa's Dubuque County.

The president, on his third trip to the state since the 2016 election, will attend a roundtable discussion on workforce development.

"We are all excited to travel out to Iowa, a state that is very near and dear to the president's heart," said Brian Jack, White House deputy political director, in a conference call with Iowa reporters Wednesday.

Air Force One is scheduled to touch down at the Dubuque Regional Airport on Thursday morning. The president will then travel about 14 miles to Northeast Iowa Community College's Peosta campus for meetings starting around 11 a.m.

This will be Trump's first visit to Dubuque County since 2016, when he became the first Republican president candidate to carry the traditionally Democratic county since President Dwight Eisenhower did in 1956.

MORE: President Trump in Iowa: Political landscape of Dubuque County has shifted dramatically

The president was last in Iowa in June 2017, when he toured an agriculture program at Kirkwood Community College and held a raucous rally in downtown Cedar Rapids.

The Northeast Iowa Community College events are on an invitation-only basis, White House officials said.

Trump's visit comes in the wake of of an executive order he signed last week that establishes a president's national council for the American worker and an American workforce policy advisory board. He will tour an advanced manufacturing lab at Northeast Iowa Community College that will include a demonstration of robotics and other high-tech equipment and he will take photos backstage with local "public safety heroes," White House officials said.

Gov. Kim Reynolds, U.S. Rep. Rod Blum and community college officials will attend the roundtable discussion. Iowa business leaders will also sign pledges related to workforce development. Two men who have learned trade skills will talk about their experiences — one of whom was underemployed and received a certificate in heating and cooling skills, while another entered a vocational program after recovering from an illness.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters Wednesday he hopes the president also hears about Iowa farmers and their worries about the Trump administration's trade policies that have hurt the prices of agricultural commodities and jeopardized overseas exports.

"He needs to know there is a lot of anxiety out there, and that anxiety has been expressed in the last few weeks that we haven't been in session where I have had town meetings around Iowa," said Grassley, who will remain in Washington, D.C., Thursday to avoid missing any votes in Congress.

More on tariffs:

Grassley said Wednesday he is glad Trump is coming to Iowa, and he hopes the president has an opportunity to listen to Iowans. But he also said Trump needs to say things that relieve the worries of Iowa farmers or to provide evidence that progress is being made on trade issues.

"Any sort of progress report that he can give and any sort of deadlines that he is hoping to meet would be very comforting at this point," Grassley said.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced a plan to provide $12 billion in aid to farmers harmed by a trade war with China and other trading partners, spurred after the administration imposed new tariffs on other nations.

Jessica Ditto, White House deputy communications director, said Trump is expected to address the trade issue while in Iowa, and she noted that he was meeting with members of Congress on Wednesday. She said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been "very engaged" with Iowa's elected leaders on trade policy matters.

Prior to Trump's event at the community college, he is scheduled to meet with Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer, whose community was devastated by an EF-3 tornado last week.

More on Marshalltown:

After leaving Dubuque Thursday, Trump will fly to Granite City, Illinois, which is across the Mississippi River from the St. Louis. He will visit a U.S. Steel plant.

Several groups plan to protest Trump administration's policies outside the college, including NextGen Iowa, Progress Iowa, Indivisible Iowa, and Americans for Democratic Action.

"From separating families at the US-Mexico border to starting a trade war with China, President Trump’s policies have horrified and hurt young Iowans," NextGen Iowa officials said in a prepared statement. The organization is working to register young Iowans to vote.