President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness initiative isn’t going over well with many Americans, including comedian Bill Maher, who railed against the program on his newest "Real Time with Bill Maher" broadcast. Maher blasted the program and highlighted how it hasn’t done anything to help the president in the polls.
Maher’s comments come amid widespread pro-Hamas protests being staged on college campuses.
Late night host Bill Maher slammed President Biden’s student loan forgiveness scheme as guests agreed the political ploy hasn’t turned around his struggling poll numbers.
The comedian, 68, said the forgiveness plans are particularly offensive to him amid rampant anti-Israel protests occupying college campuses across the nation, as he sees them as ‘supporting Jew hating.’
‘So, college’s constantly raise tuition, then the kids take out more loans, then the government comes by and pays those loans,’ he said.
‘So, my tax dollars are supporting this Jew hating? I don’t think so.’
The president’s loan forgiveness initiative comes with a hefty price tag that will be taken care of by the generosity of the American taxpayer.
On his HBO show ‘Real Time with Bill Maher,’ the comic noted that Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan is estimated to cost between $870 billion to $1.2 trillion.
The White House redoubled its efforts again this week, announcing on Wednesday it cancelled $6 billion in debt for borrowers who attended the Art Institutes between 2004 and 2017.
That brought the total forgiveness so far to $160 billion for 4.6 million borrowers ahead of November’s election.
Biden’s debt forgiveness drive is seen by some analysts as an attempt to turn the tide on his slumping poll numbers, particularly among young voters where Donald Trump has taken a surprising lead in several polls.
The debt forgiveness program was announced in April:
On Monday, Biden announced his new plan to forgive the student loan debt of roughly four million Americans. The plan will eliminate at least $5,000 for more than 10 million borrowers and will get rid of accrued interest for 23 million Americans, leaving American taxpayers on the hook for the majority of the bill. In total, through executive action, the Biden administration has canceled $146 billion in student loan debt. In an obviously strategic campaign move, Biden will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, a college town, to discuss the new plan. The scheme targets low and middle-income students, whose loans will be forgiven if they are enrolled in an “income-driven repayment plan.” Other categories of those with outstanding student loan debt include anyone who attended a “low-value” institution.
Maher's panel guests, former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway and Bloomberg National Correspondent Joshua Green, also said the plan won’t help Biden’s chances of winning reelection. Conway asserted that the White House “can’t have plumbers and pipe fitters paying for the student loans of doctors and lawyers” because “it’s not fair."
Green noted that among the issues prioritized by American voters, “Gaza is like 15th out of 16, and the only thing that comes in lower than Gaza is student loan forgiveness.”
He also observed that the program “hasn’t worked as a motivator for the youth vote, half of which are out there chanting ‘Genocide Joe.’”
The panel discussed how the program looks to the American public against the backdrop of the pro-Hamas protests on college campuses. Green pointed out that “if you turn on your TV today, you see young people protesting, angry, fighting with cops.”
Others have speculated that the nationwide protests are working against Biden’s campaign while helping former President Donald Trump, who has capitalized on the antisemitic demonstrations to attack his opponent.