As an FFA alumna, my memories of National Convention are some of my fondest. It was the trip that we all looked forward to every year. There was nothing like the feeling of twinning with over 60,000 people in the iconic blue jackets. There was nothing like eagerly hunting down members from all 52 state associations just to get them to sign your book (Hawaii was always elusive, but one year I did get the Virgin Islands).

Even though I'm no longer a member, I still look forward to tuning into the sessions to hear the guest speakers, the National Officer Retiring Addresses, and to see how many times Ohio gets called for winning something (even though I hate Ohio, I do have state pride sometimes).

As you can probably tell, I loved being an FFA member, and I still love the organization. Despite the fact I'm not going into the agricultural industry, I do believe in what the FFA stands for and I support them wholeheartedly.

That doesn't mean I'm not upset, though.

Tuesday evening, right before the start of their 91st national convention,the National FFA Organization released a statement announcing that President Donald Trump would be addressing the ninth general session — the day after he declared himself a nationalist at a rally in Texas and days after his administration announced plans to basically erase the transgender community.

Yes, the largest and most respected youth organization in the United States invited a man who basically admitted he was a fascist to address a registered 65,000 members and guests about the agricultural industry — an industry that Trump, who was born a billionaire in New York City and has never worked on a farm a day in his life, could actually care less about.

What a way to celebrate 50 years of female membership in the FFA by having an accused sexual predator who could care less about the agricultural community address the national convention, right?

Now, this isn't the first time Donald Trump has addressed a youth organization. If you all will remember, he addressed the Boy Scouts last July, and that just went so well. So well, in fact, that he angered the parents of those scouts because he went off in a partisan ramble in which he attacked Hillary Clinton and President Obama — because, you know, that's what those Boy Scouts were there for.

Donald Trump couldn't even be nonpartisan with freaking Boy Scouts, of all people, so what on Earth made the National FFA Organization that he would be nonpartisan with them?

While Trump's speech started off relatively presidential, for once, as he addressed the recent horrific, anti-Semitic terrorist attack in Pittsburgh, it quickly became one of his typical rally-like speeches — though albeit somewhat more restrained.

Most keynote speakers at FFA Convention try to impart an inspirational message,but Trump decided to ramble about trade, tariffs, hurricanes, how he'll never receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the UN, globalism, cars, the EU, China, Nancy Pelosi, Elizabeth Warren, jobs, Food Stamps, the Paris Climate Accord, the death penalty, and how much his administration has done for farmers for about an hour.
And of course, he couldn't resist plugging some Republican Congressional candidates between the constant lies, as he invited two Republican Congressmen from Indiana to the podium. Not to mention there was that really creepy moment where someone in the crowd shouted, “I love Bre!" (the 2017-2018 National FFA President), and Trump responded, “I love Bre too."
While it may be a tradition for the FFA to invite the sitting U.S. President to address the convention, and it's very courteous to do so, this is a president who has shown time and time again that he cannot be trusted. Like he did with the Boy Scouts, Trump showed yet again that he is completely incapable of being nonpartisan.

To subject FFA members and guests to a surprise Donald Trump rally was extremely inappropriate, no matter how subdued it was as compared to his usual rallies. And to give such short notice after almost 70,000 members and guests not only paid for registration, but also paid for travel and accommodations — something that can be extremely expensive — was also disappointing and shameful.

Like, the National FFA released convention information regarding guest speakers, themes, and Garth Brooks back in either May or June. It's not like they asked Trump last week to speak at Convention. They would have known for months that he would be speaking at the 91st National FFA Convention.

It was extremely disrespectful to blind-side FFA members who are parts of communities that Donald Trump has attacked. Why would they subject LGBTQ+ members, female members, members who are survivors of sexual assault, and members who are immigrants or the children of immigrants to an impromptu Trump rally, when he has shown them that he doesn't care about them time and time again?

Shouldn't the well-being of all FFA members be the National FFA's number one priority? Because announcing Trump was speaking at Convention the day before it started was not prioritizing all FFA members. It was showing members of communities that Trump attacks that the FFA doesn't care about them in the name of “tradition."

The FFA is supposed to be an inclusive, diverse organization that promotes agriculture, works on developing new ways to sustain the growing population through technology and science, and raises the next generation of agriculturalists — Donald Trump represents absolutely none of that.

And before anyone says, “If they didn't like it, they should have just left," let me tell you something.

The main issue in and of itself is that the FFA waited until the day before Convention began to let everyone know, “Hey, Donald Trump as speaking at Convention this year." They waited until after members and guests had paid for their registrations. They waited until after everyone paid for travel and accommodations, when they knew members were coming to Indianapolis from as far away as Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

And by doing so, they not only disrespected their members who belong to communities that Donald Trump attacks regularly, but also allowed the National FFA Convention to become just another Trump rally.

The National FFA Organization waiting until the day before convention to announce that Trump was speaking was extremely deceptive and shameful. And as a former member, I am disgusted by their actions.

I would have thought respect and morals were more important than “tradition," but I guess I'm wrong.

FFA, you're better than this... Or at least, I thought you were.