Biden says Hispanics, Blacks 'don't own' homes while pitching student debt cancelation
WASHINGTON (TND) — Critics are slamming President Joe Biden for a "racist" comment regarding minority home ownership during his announcement Wednesday about plans to cancel at least $10,000 in student loan repayments for borrowers.
The plan, which has a massive $300 billion price tag, will cancel $10,000 in student debt for certain borrowers and $20,000 for borrowers who went to school on a Pell Grant.
During his pitch to the American people, Biden spoke of the disproportionate financial hardship Blacks and Hispanics face as a result of outstanding student loan payments, noting that minority communities "don't own" homes they can borrow against to help reduce their financial burdens.
The burden is especially heavy on Black and Hispanic borrowers, who on average have less family wealth to pay for it," Biden said Wednesday. "They don't own their homes to borrow against to be able to pay for college."
Brandon Morse, deputy managing editor at RedState, called Biden "a soft bigot with low expectations."
Talk radio host Ben Bradshaw dubbed Biden's comments a "racist generalization."
This is just racist nonsense," conservative author A.G. Hamilton tweeted in response to Biden's comments.
Biden has long been derided by critics for what has been considered subtle racism despite his party's claim that it champions minority issues.
Leading up to the 2020 election, Biden's past racially charged comments came back to haunt him, including a comment he made about Indian Americans in 2006.
In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking," Biden said in 2006 on an episode of the C-SPAN series "Road to the White House."
Despite the backlash he received for that comment, Biden made a series of questionable comments about race in the years to follow, including during his 2020 presidential campaign.
We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor, you cannot do it. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids," Biden said while campaigning at a town hall in Iowa alongside multiple minority coalitions.
Last summer, while lamenting the difficulty in convincing many Hispanics and Blacks to get vaccinated, Biden argued the two communities are resistant because "they’re worried that they’ll be vaccinated and deported," implying most Hispanics aren't legal American citizens even though roughly 60 million currently reside in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center.
The Bidens have been sounding like racists for years — but too many on the left and in the media cover for them," former GOP Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Times. "It’s time for the rest of us to call them out."
