Trump traveling to TN with Corker, Black, Blackburn and Roe

U.S. Reps. Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn, both campaigning for statewide office, and retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Corker will join President Trump in flying to Nashville for a Monday afternoon speech to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s convention, reports The Tennessean. So will U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, who hasn’t officially said whether he’ll run for another term.

The focus of the article is on Corker, who has at times feuded publicly with Trump via Twitter and otherwise while, at other times, lauded the president.

Sen. Lamar Alexander was invited to ride aboard the presidential plane, but turned down the offer because he will already be in Nashville, his office said.

Once he’s at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center to make the speech, the president will be welcomed by Gov. Bill Haslam, who last year somewhat famously refused to vote for Trump, and by House Speaker Beth Harwell, who – along with Black and others – is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, reports WKRN TV.  Blackburn is running to replace Corker in the U.S. Senate.

“I don’t know that I will have the opportunity to speak to him,” laughed Speaker Harwell… “But if I do I will welcome him to our beautiful state and tell him that I appreciate the fact that he is trying to do for the nation what he has already done for the state of Tennessee.”

Harwell did not elaborate but as any state Republican politician knows; Donald Trump remains popular in Tennessee with only slight dips in many public approval rankings after overwhelmingly winning the state in 2016.

The Tennessean (and other media in the USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee) also has a full package of here-comes-the-president stories, including one wherein members of the state’s congressional delegation were asked what they’d like to hear him talk about. (Top answers, in order of most frequent mention: The opioid crisis, “rollback of federal regulations” and health care.)

Others are on farmers talking about their concerns that the president should heed, a video slide show on “5 things to know” about the Trump visit and an editorial, headlined “Trump returns to Nashville; will he unite us in 2018?”

Politico also has an article on Trump’s foray into farm policy. An excerpt:

Perhaps in preparation for his Farm Bureau debut, Trump hosted a handful of Republican senators at the White House on Thursday for a meeting focused in part on trade and agriculture. Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, who has complained about his inability to have a chat with Trump on NAFTA, finally had his say.

In a statement, Roberts said he delivered the message that farmers and ranchers needed their export markets to stay open. He also said that keeping the agreement would maintain the U.S.’ reputation for being a reliable supplier. Sen. John Hoeven also attended the meeting, and said he pressed the importance of passing a farm bill that supports producers.

Trade on Canada’s mind: Canada’s Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced Thursday that he would attend Sunday’s opening ceremony. He will also make the rounds with U.S. food and ag leaders, including Duvall, Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton and state Farm Bureau presidents. His goal: promoting the trade relationship between the United States and Canada.