The farmers who spoke at a Sept. 2 meeting with congressional officials in Brookland, AR, were respectful, plain-spoken, and worried, according to the 4-minute, 30-second report aired by KAIT News, Jonesboro, and posted on YouTube afterwards.

None, however, could have anticipated the anger their pleas for federal farm assistance ignited when the video went viral.

Within a week of the report's online posting, 25,237 comments–most packed with resentment and invective–poured into YouTube. Many echoed someone calling herself @SamanthaUniverse who demanded the farmers "Put your red hats back on… NO HANDOUTS".

Another suggested that the farmers "Call Eric Trump he made 500 million yesterday." Over 9,500 people endorsed that comment with a thumbs up emoji while none disagreed.

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