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Mitt Romney’s Sarcastic Joke About Student Loan Forgiveness Being A ‘Bribe’ Backfired Spectacularly

Since becoming president, Joe Biden has repeatedly kicked the can on when student loan payments, paused at the start of the pandemic, would resume. First it was early 2022. Then it was May. Now it’s September. But some have floated an idea popular with those who owe the combined $1.6 trillion in federal loans: Why not just cancel all of it? But when it was revealed Biden was finally considering doing just that — or something like it — Republicans came out in force against it.

One of them was among the more moderate and sensible members of the GOP: Mitt Romney. The Utah senator, former presidential candidate, and Ted Lasso ruiner has repeatedly split with his party, even coming out against ex-POTUS Donald Trump (as well as Marjorie Taylor Greene). But he joined them in condemning the potential move, doing so in sarcastic fashion.

“Desperate polls call for desperate measures: Dems consider forgiving trillions in student loans,” Romney tweeted. “Other bribe suggestions: Forgive auto loans? Forgive credit card debt? Forgive mortgages? And put a wealth tax on the super-rich to pay for it all. What could possibly go wrong?”

Every now and then, Republicans try to own their Democratic counterparts by inadvertently spouting something Democrats actually think is a great idea. So it was in Romney’s case. Auto loans, credit card debt, and mortgages aren’t the same as college tuition, which has skyrocketed over the last few decades, to the point where practically an entire generation can’t buy homes, buy cars, or contribute to the free market in any meaningful way. But if someone’s floating the idea of forgiving debt on those two? Many people thought Mitt Romney had a great idea.

Others pointed out that Romney cares more about the super-rich, like himself, than everyday Americans.

And others pointed out that he, too, is unimaginably, abstractly wealthy.

But at least his tweet put him in august company, which is to say the notorious Jim Jordan agreed with him.