By BEN R. WILLIAMS
WINNESHIEK COUNTY, IOWA — Tommy Neddermeyer Jr. runs a hand along his pristine 1968 Plymouth Barracuda. The car was bought new by his father, Tommy Neddermeyer Sr., who passed it along to his beloved son shortly before his death.
“We used to tear up the country in that bad boy,” Neddermeyer said wistfully. “You could rev that 383 in Decorah and they’d hear it all the way in Freeport.”
Tommy had planned to pass the Barracuda along to his own son, Trey. Unfortunately, that won’t be happening.
“It’s going to auction this weekend,” Neddermeyer said. “I’ve already lost the farm. If I don’t sell that car, I’ll lose the house, too.”
For decades, the Neddermeyer family has grown and harvested soybeans. Since Donald Trump was elected to his second term, however, Trump’s tariffs coupled with retaliatory tariffs from China have disrupted the global soybean market, devastating the livelihoods of farmers like Neddermeyer.
“I voted for the man three times,” Neddermeyer said. “All that stuff about helping American farmers, I believed all of it. And of course, I wanted him to keep those criminal migrants and trans people out of Winneshiek County. Me and my buddies actually thought we saw a trans person lurking around Phelps Park a few weeks ago, but it turned out to be a weather balloon.”
Now, Neddermeyer said, he feels like he’s been conned.
“I had to sell the farm last month,” he said. “I couldn’t turn a profit on the soybeans, and I couldn’t even afford to harvest them because diesel has gotten so expensive because of that war with Iran. I’ve been ruined. Selling the Barracuda will buy some time, but if things don’t change soon, me and the wife will be living out of our old camper.”
“It’s not like I could have known,” Neddermeyer said. “I thought Trump was trying to help farmers like me.”
But is that true? At a June 18, 2024 campaign rally in Racine, Wisconsin, Trump’s own words told a different story.
“We’re going to support these farmers, folks,” Trump told the audience. “I love the farmers. Except for Tommy Neddermeyer of Winneshiek County, Iowa. Have you heard of this guy? He’s a low IQ individual and we’re going to knock the hell out of him.”
“Well, I assumed he was talking about my dad,” Neddermeyer said. “I guess I thought it was odd, but you know, I’m a patriot. If it came down to choosing a side, I was going to choose Trump every time.”
However, at a July 27, 2024 rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Trump’s rhetoric became more specific.
“I hate Tommy Neddermeyer Jr., age 47, of 39 Dobson Lane, Calmar, Iowa 52132,” Trump told the attendees. “Just to be clear, I have no issue with his father.”
“I hate his stupid face and his ugly wife and son,” Trump continued. “I want to take the dumb 1968 Barracuda he owns and run him over with it until he explodes like a watermelon. I promise you all that I will destroy him. I will see to it that he has to sell his farm and his house and die penniless in the gutter having lost everything dear to him. This is my pledge to the American people.”
“I didn’t take it personally,” Neddermeyer said. “I figured that’s just how politicians talk, you know. I just wish someone had told me what Trump was really planning to do. How could I have known?”
As Neddermeyer hitchhikes toward an uncertain future, he said that he struggles sometimes not to blame himself.
“There are times that I think maybe I shouldn’t have voted at all,” Neddermeyer said. “That maybe I’ve been the rube this whole time. But let me tell you, no matter how bad things get, Kamala would have been worse.”
At a June 23 rally in Macungie, Pennsylvania, Trump announced that his plan to destroy Neddermeyer was almost complete.
“His spirit is broken, folks,” Trump said. “Soon, Tommy Neddermeyer Jr. will be a husk of a man buried in a pauper’s grave. The only thing I like about him is that he’s so incredibly stupid that he’ll probably vote for me a fourth time.”
“Would I vote for Trump again?” Neddermeyer said. “Yeah. I mean, he’s a businessman.”
