Yesterday, the official White House Twitter account decided to dedicate their valuable space to outing Republican members of Congress who had taken PPP loans that were ultimately forgiven. The idea was to deceive their followers into thinking that Republicans against Joe Biden’s illegal, taxpayer-funded student loan bailout are hypocrites. That’s not how it works, of course, because PPP loans and student loans are not the same thing.
A little puzzled by the WH focus on Paycheck Protection Program as an analog to student loan forgiveness since the former was actually implemented through *legislation in Congress*.
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) August 26, 2022
But this is the narrative that the Biden administration has clearly settled on, and you’d better believe they’re running with it. White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti is running with it right over the cliff:
JACQUI TIME: "Republicans & critics are saying is that there's a difference between those decisions being voted on by Congress &…those loans…to cover businesses that were shut down by the govt…vs. students who willfully took out their loans…There is a difference there" pic.twitter.com/lVWRVEKdp3
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 26, 2022
Come on.
.@JacquiHeinrich to Team Biden: "How are you justifying using a 2003 law that was designed to help military families…where you're now helping bail out people who took out loans & cannot pay them? Do you view people who can't pay…as heroes like those…in our armed services?" pic.twitter.com/Dmnt0BX2ui
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 26, 2022
.@JacquiHeinrich: "Why not" target "universities? Why not build in something to make sure that borrowing moving forward is limited or universities don't just ratchet up the cost?"
WH's Bharat Ramamurti says he's "glad you brought that up" then proceeds to blame it on…Trump pic.twitter.com/NTqTAFkVHj
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 26, 2022
Basically, Bharat Ramamurti is a raging dumpster fire. Which means he fits in well with the administration. He can’t defend the indefensible, so he drags Donald Trump into it. Naturally. And that’s annoying, but it’s still not as annoying as watching him stand up there at that podium and tell the media and the American public that it’s totally reasonable to compare student loan debt forgiveness to PPP loan forgiveness. It’s actually genuinely insulting to listen to the garbage spewing forth from his mouth.
NEW: The Biden Administration reiterates that it doesn't understand the obvious difference between Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and student loans: pic.twitter.com/ApFsWND1Cl
— The Market Institute (@MarketInstitute) August 26, 2022
Are you seething? We’re seething.
Reporter: Just to be clear, does the White House understand the difference between PPP loans and student loans?
Biden Admin: Absolutely not — we're going to continue making the ridiculous comparison, even though it makes ZERO sense. pic.twitter.com/JLAYaUfG3N
— The Market Institute (@MarketInstitute) August 26, 2022
Seething.
It's absolutely insulting to pretend that the circumstances and conditions governing PPP loans aren't wildly different than college loans. https://t.co/dy8zZ36jcm
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) August 26, 2022
PPP was because Government forced businesses to close. Income was impeded by the State.
Government didn’t force people to get an education.
It’s an Apples to Middle Fingers comparison. https://t.co/E0sQqOxP99
— Adrian (Pro Constitutional Republic) Slade (@adriansladeshow) August 26, 2022
These are not serious people. Willful misrepresentation. Whether you like PPP or not, it was passed through Congress and had pre-stated criteria that must be met for forgiveness.
The student loan action is NOT through legislation, but through unlawful executive fiat. https://t.co/ZY4QrrKn6V
— David Powell (@davidpowellbham) August 26, 2022
Again, this is either just embarrassing economic illiteracy about a program THIS ADMIN SUPPORTED..
Or just wild gaslighting.
Or both. Let's not rule out both. https://t.co/SIR3m0uRbQ
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) August 26, 2022
We wouldn’t rule out both. Based on this administration’s disastrous record, we definitely wouldn’t rule out both.
When someone tells you who they are, believe them. And the Biden administration has told us that they are not to be believed.
***