Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting this week turned into an unusually volatile showdown after a powerful farming lobbyist directly challenged the president over a new executive order, triggering what witnesses described as a loud, back-and-forth confrontation inside the White House.
The tense exchange unfolded as Trump prepared to sign an order titled “Advancing Regenerative Agriculture and Strengthening American Farm Resilience,” which directs federal agencies to study pesticide exposure and explore faster alternatives to conventional chemicals used in agriculture.
According to Axios reporting based on multiple people present, the meeting quickly exposed deep divisions inside Trump’s coalition—particularly between agriculture industry leaders and allies of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who have pushed for tighter scrutiny of pesticide use.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall urged Trump not to move forward with the order, warning that it could alienate farmers and create serious political backlash in rural America.
Jonathan Lundgren, a South Dakota farmer and former Agriculture Department official who was in the room, said Duvall’s willingness to challenge the president directly stood out immediately.
“It was shocking,” Lundgren told Axios, adding that Trump appeared focused on understanding why the farm lobby was so concerned.
But the discussion escalated further once Duvall and Calley Means, a Kennedy ally, began arguing over the substance of the order. Means accused Duvall of criticizing a policy he had not fully reviewed, and the exchange quickly turned heated.
“It was intense in there,” Lundgren said. “They were arguing. It was back and forth.”
Lundgren also made an emotional case of his own, telling Trump that concerns about pesticide exposure are not theoretical for many farmers.
“One of the take-home messages I really wanted him to understand is that the farmers were sick right now,” he said. “We’re literally killing our farmers with these food systems.”
Despite the confrontation, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins urged Trump to sign the order, arguing it would advance research and policy discussions around pesticide alternatives without immediately disrupting farm operations.
Trump ultimately signed the order.
The White House did not dispute Axios’s description of the meeting, saying only that Trump hears “a variety of opinions” before making decisions.
Still, according to those present, the meeting stood out not for the policy outcome, but for the unusually heated confrontation that preceded it.
