Trump to sell new tax law to farmers

President Trump on Monday will tout the new tax law in a speech to farmers in Nashville — one of the president's first efforts to sell the measure to the public following its enactment last month.

"Under the huge tax cut we just passed, Americans will be paying less in taxes and keeping more of their own money," Trump will say at the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual convention, according to excerpts provided by the White House.

The new tax law is the first major legislative accomplishment for Republicans since Trump took office, but polls have shown that the measure is unpopular. Republicans are working to change the public sentiment ahead of the midterm elections, and they think the law will become more popular once people see more money in their paychecks in February.

Trump in his speech will tout the companies that have announced bonuses and wage increases in the wake of the tax law's passage, and he is also expected to attack Democratic lawmakers for unanimously voting against the measure.

"Every Democrat in the House, and every Democrat in the Senate voted against tax cuts for American farmers – but Republicans came together, and delivered historic relief for our farmers and our middle class," the president will say. "And if the Democrats ever had the chance, the first thing they would do is try to raise your taxes."

Trump will also highlight parts of the new law as beneficial for farmers and other businesses, such as the lower corporate tax rate, the new 20-percent deduction for pass-through businesses and the increase in the exemption from the estate tax.

"From now on, most family farms and small business owners will be spared the punishment of the deeply unfair estate tax, known as the death tax — so you can keep your farms in the family," he will say.

Republicans for years have criticized the estate tax as particularly harmful for family farmers, though only a small number of small businesses and farms were estimated to be subject to the tax under the old tax code.

In addition to touting the tax law in his Nashville speech, Trump is also expected to highlight how his efforts to cut back on regulations are beneficial to farmers.

"We are streamlining regulations that have blocked cutting edge biotechnology – setting free our farmers to innovate, thrive, and grow," he will say. "Because we know that our farmers are the future."