The Democratic Party’s war on humor reached a new level of absurdity on Tuesday when Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) completely unraveled over a simple joke during a House Financial Services Committee hearing. What was supposed to be a sober discussion on international finance turned into a Meeks meltdown—triggered by a Treasury official who dared to crack a smile.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was called to testify ahead of high-stakes U.S.-China trade talks scheduled in Geneva later this week. President Trump’s new tariffs have put pressure on Beijing, and Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are leading the charge. But instead of focusing on policy, Meeks decided to climb onto a soapbox about trade deficits and constitutional authority.
“For four decades, we have had trade deficits in America, and no one said it was an emergency,” Meeks declared, as if bleeding manufacturing jobs and shuttered factories in the Rust Belt were just economic background noise. “It hasn’t been an emergency for four decades!”
He then called for stripping the president of his tariff authority and returning it to Congress—because, you know, Congress is so efficient and non-partisan.
But the real fireworks came when Meeks tried to set a rhetorical trap for Bessent.
“Who has been the President since January 2025?” Meeks asked. Bessent answered correctly.
Then Meeks followed up, “Who was the president in 2024?”
With a grin, Bessent responded, “One believes President Biden.”
Cue the detonation.
Meeks immediately lost it, completely missing the deadpan sarcasm aimed at Biden’s well-documented mental fog during his final year in office. “One believes?!” he shouted, as if Bessent had just questioned the moon landing. “You one of these nonbelievers in that election?!”
“I am not,” Bessent replied calmly, still smiling.
That wasn’t good enough for Meeks. He demanded to know if Bessent believed in the Constitution. “You don’t have to think about it. You believe in it?”
“I have and I do, sir,” Bessent affirmed.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent answers questions with alarming honesty as he is grilled on the house floor today. :joy:
Rep. Gregory Meeks: Who was the president in 2024?
Scott Bessent: "One believes President Biden."
Meeks: "One BELIEVES? You one of those non-believers?" pic.twitter.com/84yqJux8Ao
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) May 7, 2025
So there it was: a simple joke, a nod to reality—that Biden didn’t exactly inspire confidence in 2024—and Meeks spun it into a full-blown constitutional crisis.
Instead of debating China, tariffs, or economic policy, Democrats are back to their favorite pastime: pretending to be outraged. Meeks didn’t just miss the joke—he faceplanted into it.
And Bessent? He walked away unfazed, reminding America that sometimes the best way to deal with nonsense is a little humor and a lot of truth.
Are there any intelligent black Democrats?