‘Underachievers who are jealous of those who want to go and work every day’: Scott Bessent slams supporters of socialism in the U.S.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent weighed in on the growing support for socialism in the United States on Tuesday. He offered a sharply critical assessment of the voters he believes are drawn to the ideology. 

Bessent made the comments during a live conversation with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow at the Group of 20 finance ministers’ summit in Asheville, North Carolina. The discussion touched on economic policy and the political debate surrounding socialism in the U.S., an issue that has gained greater attention in recent years as some Democratic politicians have embraced policies associated with the ideology.

Bessent said, “When you talk about socialism here in the U.S., and when you look at the demographic of those voters, they are over-educated and under-earning,”  according to The Hill. He then said, “These are underachievers who are jealous of those who want to go and work every day.”

Democratic socialist candidates take House primaries in New York and Colorado

Democratic socialist candidates scored several notable victories in House primaries this summer, highlighting the continued influence of the movement within the Democratic Party. The group includes Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York, along with Melat Kiros in Colorado.  This rhetoric comes as progressive candidates have recently won several key Democratic primaries, a trend John Fetterman has called lunacy. 

Their primary wins put them in a position to compete for seats in Congress and potentially add to the number of lawmakers aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America and its broader political agenda. These wins have prompted concern from some quarters, as when Mike Johnson rang the alarm bell on Democratic socialist candidate wins in Democratic primaries. 

Many of those candidates have spoken about cost-of-living pressures during their campaigns. They have also argued that the United States should not send military funding to Israel.

CBS News and YouGov released a survey in August on public views of political systems. Nine percent of respondents said they had a very positive view of socialism. Another 26 percent said their view was somewhat positive.

The same poll found stronger support for capitalism. Forty-six percent of respondents said they viewed capitalism positively. Thirty-three percent said they viewed it negatively, and 20 percent said they had no opinion.

The results also showed a split by party. Nearly 60 percent of Democrats in the survey said they had a very or somewhat positive view of socialism. Fourteen percent of Republicans said the same.

Bessent spoke as other Republican officials have criticized progressive Democrats this election cycle. President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana have called Democratic socialists and other left-leaning candidates communists.