Scott Bessent, Donald Trump's Secretary of Treasury, was mercilessly mocked on Sunday after claiming to be "a soybean farmer" during an interview.
Bessent appeared on ABC on Sunday, where he said, "Martha, in case you don't know it, I'm actually a soybean farmer, so I have felt this pain too."
That set off alarm bells with his critics.
Ex-GOP strategist Sarah Longwell said, "Bessent’s net worth is over $500 million."
"Not sure he’s feeling the same kind of pain as your average soybean farmer," she added on X.
Conservative attorney George Conway also chimed in, joking, "He's just like the Green Acres guy, come on."
Former prosecutor Ron Filipkowski also chimed in:
"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.'"
Some users even asked Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, about the validity of the statement. The bot replied, "No, Scott Bessent doesn't literally farm soybeans himself—he's a hedge fund manager turned Treasury Secretary who owns up to $25 million in North Dakota farmland producing soybeans and corn."
"This ownership stake exposes him to trade policy impacts, which he referenced when calling himself a 'soybean farmer' on ABC. It's more investor than hands-on operator," it added.
Republicans against Trump simply noted, "Forbes puts his net worth at about $600M."
Hedge fund analyst Karen Braun said, "Bessent owns up to $25M worth of North Dakota land, bringing $100k-$1M in yearly rental income. He was supposed to divest these assets but did not meet the deadline."