Scott Bessent—worth an estimated $600 million according to Forbes—wasn’t well-received when he identified himself as a fellow soybean farmer suffering under China’s boycott.
Bessent made the baffling claim when asked by Martha Raddatz on ABC’s This Week about whether soybean farmers impacted by tariffs could expect to “see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Multimillionaire Bessent earnestly responded: “Well, Martha, in case you don’t know it, I’m actually a soybean farmer. So, I have—I have felt this pain, too.”
Bessent noted that farmers—a key bloc of Trump supporters—had seen their vital Chinese markets nearly vanish despite a bumper crop this year. But he claimed that things were looking up for him and his fellow laborers.
“I think we have addressed the farmer’s concerns, and I’m not going to get ahead of the president, but I believe when the announcement of the deal with China is made public, that our soybean farmers will feel very good about what’s going on both for this season and the coming seasons for several years,” he said.
Predictably, the former hedge fund manager’s self-identification as “actually a soybean farmer” wasn’t lapped up by the masses, who were quick to fact check him.
“From his perch as a long-time global currency trader on Wall Street, Bessent also invested $25 million in Midwest land, which he leases out to actual farmers. He is not a ‘soybean farmer,’” one detractor posted on X.
“In an attempt to be relatable, Bessent now is a soybean farmer. Any other soybean farmers house look like this?” wrote another, alongside an image of Bessent’s South Carolina pink stucco mansion—the John Ravenel House—which he sold a few months ago for $18.25 million according to the New York Post, setting a record for the area.
A third viewer added: “Personal fortune of over $600m and growing, but yes you are feeling the pain of farmers because you own land that others farm on. What a ridiculous statement.”
“Bessent’s a soybean farmer the same way Elon Musk is a coal miner; spiritually, from a distance,” joked another.
While Bessent’s status as a farmer is being questioned online, he has been fixated on soybeans (and the all-important TikTok) in many recent discussions about a potential US-China deal—and has stressed that we’re just waiting on “the two leaders to consummate” the deal during their talks.
