Jean-Pierre Doesn’t Have the Message to Americans Who Did Not Attend College or Take on Student Loan Debt

ALEXANDER: “You opened today’s briefing by talking about the latest student loan cancellations for I think we said — what did we say, in total, 4.75 million Americans now, I think there’s 160.000 in this latest round. Mike Johnson, the Republican House Speaker, today described this as a massive wealth transfer from Americans who did not attend college to those who did, and he described it as a shameful play to buy more votes six months before an election.”
Jean-Pierre: “I will say to congressional member Mike Johnson, obviously the speaker, is that what is shameful is that Republicans continue to get in the way of helping us deliver a little bit of breathing room for Americans who deserve that opportunity, who deserve — you heard me talk about about Tiffany, the young woman who — who — one of the things that people should know, and if you don’t, is that when folks are receiving these — these debt relief announcements from the president, they have an opportunity to tell their story. They have an opportunity to — to say why this matters to them. And we’re talking about millions of Americans who now have an opportunity to start a life, have an opportunity to move forward in a way that — where they can reach that American dream or reach whatever it is that they wanted to do, not just for themselves, but for their families. So we believe, and the president is not going to walk away from doing that. He believes this is an important commitment that he made to Americans. It is a broken system. It is a broken system.”
ALEXANDER: “I guess the question, though, what then is the White House’s message to those Americans who did not attend college for a variety of reasons, perhaps, including perhaps that they didn’t want to take on all the debt that went with it, right now, that they feel like in some form they are responsible for allowing those who did not to pay their fair share?”
Jean-Pierre: “So, look, here’s the thing. This is a president who has been very clear about breed making sure that he’s building an economy that leaves no one behind, right, making sure that — “
ALEXANDER: “Are the people who have been left behind the ones who didn’t get support because they didn’t go to college?”
Jean-Pierre: “I hear your question, but this is — if you look at what the president has done holistically, over the past three and a half years, he has tried to build an economy for everyone. This is one part of his economic policy. When you think about creating — creating 15 million jobs, many of those jobs, if you think about the different legislation that he’s obviously passed into law, where there’s the bipartisan infrastructure legislation, Chips and Science Act, it’s creating jobs that are good union-paying jobs where you don’t need a college education, right, where you can make six figures and actually have that opportunity to start your family. He is creating an economy from the bottom up, middle out, making sure that the millionaires — the billionaires and corporations are paying their fair share — fair share, right? Not like Republicans in Congress who want to give them a tax giveaway. So he’s trying to make sure — this is one part of his economic policy, but as he’s thinking forward, as he’s looking at all Americans, all communities, he wants to make sure that there isn’t economy that doesn’t leave — again, doesn’t leave anybody behind and, as historically, that trickle-down economics does not work, and he does not want to see that. So we have given opportunities and we want to continue to give opportunities for folks who feel like they need a little bit more help.”
ALEXANDER: “And I guess just to put a fine point on it, right now, for the 4.7 million Americans who have received this debt relief, the average, as you said at the start of this, is $35,000 their relief has been for. So, I guess, why don’t those individuals who didn’t receive $35,000 in debt cancellations deserve a $35,000 check from other Americans for whatever means they would want to use it?”
Jean-Pierre: “You’re talking about the — “
ALEXANDER: “They didn’t go to college so they’re not getting that relief, the $35,000 they don’t get because they didn’t go.”
Jean-Pierre: “I mean, we’re talking about folks who are in debt, who are literally being crushed, literally being crushed because they took — they took — they took — “
Reporter: “Literally being crushed? Let’s be — “
Jean-Pierre: “Financially. Okay? Is that okay with you? I know, but crushed financially. And so, they’re trying to get their lives back on track, right? They’re to get into a place, because they took they took a bet on themselves in a different way, right, they bet on themselves in going to college, and some of them, it is difficult to do that, right? They did that, financially it’s hurt them, and we want to give them that breathing room. But it’s not just folks who have debt because of colleges. We’re trying to help people in different — in different communities as well. Folks who don’t have to get that college degree and can make six-figure salary, that is one of the things that the president was very proud of when he passed a bipartisan infrastructure legislation, when he signed the Chips and Science Act. Those are really important components of what he’s trying to do as well. Let’s do — if you think about making sure — healthcare, healthcare is more affordable, getting that prescription drug, many for diabetes, for cancer, making sure that those costs are lower, insulin. So there are many ways that the president has made sure that Americans have what they need to move forward with their lives, create and build a family where there — they feel like they’re going after their dreams as well. And so, look, you know, we want to make sure that, again, the student loan piece is one part, one part of the president’s economic policy, and the president’s not gonna step away from it, he’s not going to back down, because he believes it’s the right thing to do.”
ALEXANDER: “Thank you.”