"What I learned growing up on the farm was a The fact is for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs. He's been downgrading our standing in the world. He's been downgrading our financial stability. He's been downgrading our confidence, and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children. That's a fact"
About this Quote
The farm opener is a folksy credential meant to pre-authorize the verdict: I’m practical, I know how things work, I’m not dazzled by Washington. That rural identity is a cultural code in Republican politics, signaling self-reliance and moral clarity, then pivoting to a prosecutorial cadence aimed at Obama as manager-in-chief who keeps failing performance reviews.
Context matters: “nearly three years” pins this to the early Obama presidency, when unemployment remained high, the Tea Party was weaponizing economic frustration, and the 2011 U.S. credit downgrade by S&P had turned “downgrade” into a political talisman. Perry folds a complex recovery into a single narrative of deliberate diminishment.
The tell is the closing: “That’s a fact.” It’s not a mic-drop so much as a preemptive strike, daring opponents to sound elitist or pedantic for asking for proof. The intent isn’t to win a debate; it’s to lock in a feeling of national slippage and assign it a face.
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Perry, Rick. (2026, January 17). What I learned growing up on the farm was a The fact is for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs. He's been downgrading our standing in the world. He's been downgrading our financial stability. He's been downgrading our confidence, and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children. That's a fact. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-i-learned-growing-up-on-the-farm-was-a-the-36527/
Chicago Style
Perry, Rick. "What I learned growing up on the farm was a The fact is for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs. He's been downgrading our standing in the world. He's been downgrading our financial stability. He's been downgrading our confidence, and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children. That's a fact." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-i-learned-growing-up-on-the-farm-was-a-the-36527/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"What I learned growing up on the farm was a The fact is for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs. He's been downgrading our standing in the world. He's been downgrading our financial stability. He's been downgrading our confidence, and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children. That's a fact." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-i-learned-growing-up-on-the-farm-was-a-the-36527/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
