White House pivots from campus protest backlash to tout billions in student loan cancellations

The White House took a series of questions about pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, reiterating that President Joe Biden opposes antisemitism while touting the things he’s done for young people.

Several reporters tried to pin down the administration’s position on whether or not it supports the protesters or is sympathetic to their cause.

“I understand that President Biden, historically, has spoken very forcefully about antisemitism,” Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy said. “But this week, he’s not. He’s MIA. Is he that worried about losing the youth vote with these protesters?”

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she couldn’t directly answer the question because it relates to the 2024 election and campaigning, but did say Biden should be recognized for what he’s done for young people, including his efforts to cancel their student loans.

“The president has taken a lot of policy actions here that he knows that young people care about,” she said. “And a lot of those actions are popular with those young folks, whether it’s giving a little bit of breathing room with student debt relief.”

The Biden administration announced Wednesday morning it had canceled $6.1 billion in loans for 317,000 students who attended the Art Institutes.

‘We made an announcement today, as a matter of fact,” Jean-Pierre added. “We are going to continue to do that because we think it’s important, as families or as an American. If you’re coming out of college and you want to build a family, buy [a] home, you have the opportunity to do that and not be crushed by student debt.”

Republicans have fiercely opposed Biden’s cancellation plans, saying that they merely transfer debt from those who took out the loans to taxpayers who did not.

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But the press secretary argued that the Biden White House is working to implement policies that benefit everyone.

“I can’t speak to youth voters or their support,” Jean-Pierre said. “What we’re going to do is continue to take actions that we believe helps all Americans in all communities.”