Brooke Rollins, who serves as President Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary, sat down Monday with MAGA influencer Benny Johnson on The Benny Show. Johnson brought up costly steaks and pressed her on what the administration was doing about them.
Rollins said a recent call from the president had not been about beef. She stated, “For the first time, I think, in six months, that’s not what [Trump] called me about.” She then said beef is lower by five percent and added that “beef went up almost 30 percent under Joe Biden.”
She tied higher costs to what she called a Democratic and leftist agenda. Rollins said that the agenda sought to destroy cattle herds, remove them from grazing lands, and treat the animals as responsible for climate change.
Rollins offered other proteins after discussing herd policy and prices
Johnson told her, “Nobody likes these expensive steaks.” He continued, “It’s like, the gas price, the steak price – no good. What are we doing about that?”
Rollins said more people are eating beef than ever before. She also pointed out that people can turn to other protein sources instead of beef if it becomes too expensive, while fuel has no alternative.
“We have more people eating beef than ever before, but if it is too expensive – unlike fuel, Benny – you can eat chicken, pork, salmon, eggs. There are other sources of really good protein, and all of those prices are coming down as well,” she said.
Rollins also said cheaper beef was on the way. Rollins stated, “So, coming to you soon, cheaper beef.” She added, “Even better beef. America does it better than anywhere in the world.”
Trump last month temporarily lifted certain tariffs on ground beef imports. Conservatives and American ranchers criticized the decision. The move drew sharp criticism from within the party, including from a Montana senator who called the beef imports ‘absolutely idiotic’ and said they betray MAGA Republicans.
According to Mediaite, Justin Tupper, president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association, later spoke with MS NOW.
He said, “Bringing in foreign beef that does not have to live up to the same standards or any of the things that we go by here in this country, we don’t think will do one of two things – it will not bring down the price of beef in the store, and it’s not gonna help the ranchers to increase their herds.” The debate over beef production standards also involves predator control, as data show wolves cause under 1% of cattle deaths.
The Biden administration also faced rising beef prices. Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Ip reported in August that beef and veal prices rose an average of 0.6% per month under Biden, compared with 0.9% per month under Trump at that point.
Published: Sep 22, 2026 06:15 am