President Trump to speak in Nashville
President Donald Trump will return to Nashville in early January to speak at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 99th Annual Convention.
The nonprofit farming and ranching organization posted an announcement Tuesday about the president’s upcoming visit. The convention is scheduled for Jan. 5-10 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
Mace Thornton, executive director of communications for the bureau, said in an email Sunday that Trump is scheduled to speak Jan. 8 during a morning session.
“The American Farm Bureau Federation is honored to host our nation’s president,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall stated in the news release.
“President Trump has said all along that he would make sure agriculture has a seat at the table when it comes to the top issues facing America’s farmers and ranchers. Now, it is our privilege to reserve a spot for him at our podium.”
The visit comes on the heels of Congress passing a controversial but sweeping tax reform plan. Trump’s speech in Nashville is an opportunity early in the year for the president to laud the new law and speak to how it may affect farmers and ranchers.
Registration for the convention is still open.
“Anyone registered for the meeting can attend, but we are expecting the hall to be packed, so that presents the only limitation. Of course, we will likely have to set up overflow rooms so those unable to get into the hall due to space limits will be able to view live video of his speech,” Thornton said.
This will be Trump’s second trip to Music City since his inauguration. The president came in March to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of President Andrew Jackson and to host a rally.
Thousands of Trump supporters and protesters flooded downtown streets ahead of the president’s remarks, with some supporters waiting in line for more than 12 hours in the bitter cold to hear the president speak.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is also attending the conference. Country music star Reba McEntire is the keynote speaker for the convention, according to the bureau’s website.
“President Trump has assigned his team to focus on important pocketbook and quality-of-life issues to strengthen rural America, and those issues are front and center on his to-do list,” Duvall stated in the news release.
“We look forward to hearing the strategies that he and Secretary Perdue share for taking agriculture and rural America down the road toward renewed prosperity.”