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The White House Twitter account is masterfully trolling Republicans who've come out against Democratic President Joe Biden's plan to forgive some student loan debt by pointing out they had significantly more forgiven under a government program designed to help struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Biden student debt plan has been hailed for helping borrowers with lower credit scores and opening up the opportunity for millions of people to catch up on rent and utility bills as well as save money that would have otherwise gone to their student loans. The plan forgives $10,000 - $20,000 for individuals making less than $125,000, or couples making less than $250,000.
But Republicans such as Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene say the plan is nothing more than an attempt to curry favor with liberal voters ahead of November's midterm elections.
Earlier, Greene told Newsmax Democrats "need votes in November so the timing is pure coincidence," adding the policy is "completely unfair" to taxpayers who "never took out a student loan," including those who never received a college education or are "just hardworking people."
Her interview caught the attention of the White House, which quickly pointed out Greene had $183,504 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans—which are backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and were designed to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 pandemic—forgiven by the government.
\u201cCongresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven.\n\nhttps://t.co/4FoCymt8TB\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
The White House later pointed out Florida Republican Representative Vern Buchanan—who blasted "Biden's reckless, unilateral student loan giveaway"—by pointing out he had $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven by the federal government.
\u201cCongressman Vern Buchanan had over $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven.\n\nhttps://t.co/bXpwJlWRm4\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
Oklahoma Republican Representatives Markwayne Mullin and Kevin Hern had "over $1.4 million in PPP loans forgiven" and "over $1 million in PPP loans forgiven" respectively.
\u201cCongressman Kevin Hern had over $1 million in PPP loans forgiven. \n\nhttps://t.co/XsBaqxNZN4\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
The White House couldn't forget Pennsylvania Republican Representative Mike Kelly "had $987,237 in PPP loans forgiven."
\u201cCongressman Mike Kelly had $987,237 in PPP loans forgiven.\n\nhttps://t.co/Syb5Oe8gDG\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
Or that Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz also benefited because he "had $482,321 in PPP loans forgiven" himself.
\u201cCongressman Matt Gaetz had $482,321 in PPP loans forgiven.\n\nhttps://t.co/XPgC0pETkp\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
And as far as Twitter users were concerned, the White House's social media game was on point.
\u201c@WhiteHouse Hey, WH staff, just so you know, if you're going to continue to drag these hypocrites with clear and hard-hitting messaging, you run a serious risk of surging enthusiasm, electoral success, and continued improvements to the lives of millions of Americans.\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
\u201c@WhiteHouse Well damnnnnnnn \n\nPresident Petty: I heard you\u2019ve been running your mouth on these streets\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
\u201c@WhiteHouse @briebriejoy Whoever tweeted this should get a raise just for this. Good job\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
\u201c@WhiteHouse More of this, please. We can\u2019t let their lies go unchallenged.\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
\u201c@WhiteHouse I can\u2019t believe I lived to see the day that the official White House account was \u201cthis you?\u201d-ing people omfg\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
\u201c@WhiteHouse My house provides shelter.\nThe White House provides shade.\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
\u201c@WhiteHouse The last time the @WhiteHouse was this on fire was 1814. \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\ude0e\n\n\ud83d\udc4f\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
\u201c@WhiteHouse NOT THE WHITE HOUSE PULLING A \u201cTHIS YOU?\u201d WITH RECEIPTS\n\n\u201d— The White House (@The White House) 1661463234
President Biden had something to say as well.
The POTUS tweeted:
"To those Republicans in Congress who believe student debt shouldn’t be forgiven:"
"I will never apologize for helping America’s middle class—especially not to the same folks who voted for a $2 trillion tax cut for the wealthy and giant corporations that racked up the deficit."
\u201cTo those Republicans in Congress who believe student debt shouldn\u2019t be forgiven:\n\nI will never apologize for helping America\u2019s middle class \u2013 especially not to the same folks who voted for a $2 trillion tax cut for the wealthy and giant corporations that racked up the deficit.\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1661445070
According to the White House, the overwhelming majority of student loan relief will benefit those earning less than $75,000 a year, and no one in the top five percent of wage earners will benefit from the plan.
\u201cStudent debt relief must go to those who really need it. Period.\n \nMy Administration is ensuring that no high-income individual or household in the top 5% will benefit from debt cancellation.\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1661451601
The plan—which also extends the pause on student loan debt repayments to December 31, 2022—is projected to cost the federal government around $244 billion. Forgiveness for those who've received Pell Grants will cost an additional $120 billion.
In his remarks while announcing the decision, Biden said canceling some debt would allow many people to "finally crawl out from under that mountain of debt to get on top of their rent and utilities, to finally think about buying a home or starting a family or starting a business."