U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (R-KS), a fifth-generation Kansan who was raised on a family farm near the town of Quinter (population 929), was asked on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins how farmers in Kansas are reacting to President Trump’s sweeping tariffs including the now 145% tariff against China.
Mann, who is also a commercial real estate broker in Kansas City and has an estimated net worth of $7.8 million, replied, “I’ve heard countless producers have reached out to me, contacted me, saying ‘hey, if we need to bear the brunt, be the tip of the spear to get to a better place for the good of the country, uh, willing to do that.”
Mann’s comment has received a lot of backlash on X, as one replied: “I’d love to chat with those countless farmers. Got any proof they exist?”
Rep. Tracey Mann claims that he has heard from "countless" farmers in Kansas who are willing to "bear the brunt" of Trump's tariff policy "for the good of the country": "They are patriots thru and thru." pic.twitter.com/0ea5DoWUJP
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) April 10, 2025
Bob Ochoa chimed in: “Countless like in none or such a big number that they can not be counted. Either way, this seems like a great number to have communicated (especially if it represents a large percentage of farmers). Even better if it was a ‘countless’ farmers from more than one state. That said, Kansas does represent almost 3% of all farming in the US.”
Others are slamming Mann and President Trump’s promise to provide financial aid to American farmers affected by the tariffs.
Green Party member Richard Hewitt replied: “Farmers expect to be bailed out rather than ‘bear the brunt’, and they are correct in their thinking.”
Another commenter added: “I just heard some talk that Trump is thinking of another multi-billion-dollar payout to farmers that in my mind could be called a bribe.”
There is precedent for the idea that farmers will receive relief. During his first term in office in 2017, Trump initiated a trade war with China when the U.S. imposed tariffs on steel, aluminum, and auto parts. China levied retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture, specifically soybeans, which triggered the Trump administration to introduce $16 billion in aid to American farmers affected by the trade war with China.]
Note: In February, the Trump administration “sent shockwaves through the Kansas agriculture sector” when it suspended the USAID-administered program Food for Peace, which purchased approximately $355.6 million worth of wheat and sorghum annually from Kansas farms.
