CNN’s Blackwell to Tim Ryan: Your Position on Loans Is Different Now, You Supported ‘Cancellations or Forgiveness of College Loans’ 

On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN Tonight,” host Victor Blackwell asked Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Ryan (D-OH) about his past support for student loan debt cancellation and pointed out that while Ryan now says student loan debt cancellation should be accompanied by a tax cut for everyone, that’s not what he was for back in 2018 and 2020 and his proposals back then “were cancellations or forgiveness of college loans.”

Blackwell asked Ryan about his past positions on student debt forgiveness and cancellation in 2018.

Ryan answered by stating that interest rates are too high, and “we’ve got to help all workers. So, that’s why I say, if you’re going to do this, let’s do a broad tax cut that helps all working families. And if you’re going to do something with college debt, then you better do something equally as bold with college costs because there’s no way we should just throw money at this problem without solving the actual root cause of the problem.”

Blackwell responded to Ryan by stating, “I hear what you’re saying today. I’m saying that these proposals that you made over 2018 and 2020 didn’t call for a renegotiation of debt or for a broad tax cut. These were cancellations or forgiveness of college loans.”

Blackwell then changed the subject of the interview.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett