During the May 22 White House Press Briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre faced the fire from NBC’s Jason Alexander over the administration’s debt relief plan for those with student loan debt, asking the question of what would happen to those who don’t have debt because they paid it off or took other paths.

As background, KJP began the press conference by saying, “Today, we announced that the Biden-Harris administration canceled student debt for an additional 160,000 people, meaning 4.75 million Americans have now benefitted from our debt relief actions, receiving on average $35,000 in debt relief each. One of those individuals is Tiffany from Oregon. She is the youngest of four children and was raised by a single mom. Tiffany had been repaying her loans since 1994. But thanks to President Biden’s leadership, her debt was canceled and she is now excited about what her future holds. The President will never stop working to provide some more breathing room for Americans like Tiffany, no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop him.”

Alexander pressed KJP over that plan, asking, “I guess the question, though, is —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?”

KJP started to respond, saying. “So, look, here’s the thing. This is a president who has been very clear about re- — making sure that he’s building the economy that leaves no one behind — right? — making sure that —” Alexander than interrupted and asked, as KJP tried talking over him, “Are those people being left behind —the ones who didn’t get support — because they didn’t go to college?”

Snippily responding, KJP told him. “No, I hear your question, but this is — if you look at what the President has done mo- — 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 — different legislation that he’s (inaudible) passed into law — whether it’s the bipartisan infrastructure legislation, the CHIPS and Science Act — it’s creating jobs that are good union-paying jobs that — where you don’t need a college education — right? — where you can make six figures and actually have that opportunity to start your family.”

She continued, “He is creating an economy from the bottom up, middle out — making sure that the millionaires, the billionaires, and corporations are paying their fair sha- — 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 is an 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 wasn’t done. Further pressing him on the matter, he said, “Then, 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 visit was — $35,000, their relief has been for. So, I guess why don’t those individuals who didn’t receive $35,000 in debt cancellation deserve a $35,000 check from other Americans for what other means they would want to use it?” He then clarified that he was talking about “Those people who didn’t go to college so they’re not getting debt relief — the $35,000 that they don’t get because — they didn’t go.”

KJP again responded by refusing to directly answer the question, saying, “We’re talking about folks who are in debt who are literally being crushed — literally being crushed because they took an — they took — you know, they took . . . And — and so, they’re trying to get their lives back on track, right? They’re trying to get into a place, because they took — they took a bet on themselves in a different way — right? — a bet of sel- — on themselves in going to college. And some of them, it is difficult to do that. Right? And they did that. Financially, it’s hurt them, and we want to give them that breathing room.”

She continued, “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 get — make six-figure salary. That is one of the things that the President was very proud of when he passed the 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 — if you think about making sure healthcare — healthcare is more affordable, getting that prescription drugs — many for diabetes, for cancer — making sure that those costs are lower — insulin.”

She concluded, “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 they’re — they feel like they’re going after their dreams as well. And so, look, I — 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 is not going to step away from it. He’s not going to back down, because he believes it’s the right thing to do.”

Watch their spat here:

Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video