The White House PPP Loans Tweets

Overview

The White House PPP Loans Tweets, also known as the White House's "This You?" Twitter Thread or White House Twitter Thread Of Conservative PPP Loans, refers to the official Twitter account of U.S. President Joe Biden's White House quote retweeting and calling out conservative politicians and leaders who publically criticized the 2022 Student Loan Forgiveness and Pell Grants by exposing their PPP loans, often expensive and large. The thread started in August 2022 with Marjorie Taylor Greene and went on to include others like Matt Gaetz. It inspired controversy and reactions from the public, as well as from mainstream political players like Ben Shapiro and former U.S. President Donald Trump on his own Truth Social. Additionally, it was discovered that New Jersey native Megan Coyne was behind the White House's Twitter account, so many reactions surfaced regarding her and her history.

History

Origin

In late August 2022, speculation was mounting as to whether the U.S. government was going to follow through with a plan to forgive student loan debt before the August 31st deadline. On August 21st, 2022, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren was one of many politicians to voice support for canceling student debt in a tweet^[1] that received roughly 15,000 likes in five days. On August 22nd, Twitter^[2] user CalebJHull replied to Warren, "This you?" and attached a screenshot of a headline that stated Warren once earned $400,000 to teach a single college class. The humorous rebuttal received over 440 likes in four days (shown below, left).

On August 23rd, 2022, Ben Shapiro tweeted^[3] his "controversial idea" about the government paying off student loans, stating, "don't take out debt you will likely be unable to pay off, and don't ask others to pay off your debts." The tweet received roughly 84,000 likes in three days. Soon after on August 23rd, Twitter^[4] user joemayall replied with a screenshot of Shapiro's forgiven PPP loans, gaining over 225 likes in three days (shown below, right).

Despite joemayall's tweet being the first still accessible, it's likely that Twitter user KaoticLeftist posted Shapiro's PPP screenshot first but later deleted it due to the fact that the Ben Shapiro listed in the screenshot was not the political commentator Ben Shapiro but instead a real estate broker from New Jersey.^[5] KaoticLeftist's since-deleted reply is evident in Facebook^[8] reposts.

Regardless of the misinformation that started the trend, on August 23rd, 2022, Twitter^[9] user KaoticLeftist replied to a Steven Crowder tweet that added a screenshot of Crowder's company's PPP loans, earning roughly 2,000 likes in three days (shown below).

Biden's Three-Step Plan Announcement

On August 24th, 2022, President Biden announced on Twitter^[10] that he was keeping to his administration's promise of giving, "working and middle-class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023." The announcement tweet attached an infographic that gave more details about the plan. In one day, the tweet received roughly 158,300 likes.

After the official announcement of the plan, political figures and other influential Twitter users levied their takes on the White House's plan, either supporting it or not. On August 24th, 2022, Twitter user and Detroit sports announcer Rory Cooper disagreed with the White House's plan. Cooper later deleted the tweet following a viral reply posted on August 24th by Twitter^[11] user alexanderc1003, who attached a screenshot of Cooper's company's PPP loans, earning over 6,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). Later on August 24th, 2022, Twitter^[12] user KimberlyforIowa quote retweeted U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley with his company's PPP loans, earning roughly 1,200 likes in two days (shown below, right).

An hour later on August 24th, 2022, the Twitter^[13] account of CAP Action quote retweeted the House Judiciary GOP with an infographic showing multiple Congress members' PPP loans, captioning it, "What's that about paying loans back?" The QT received roughly 41,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). Later on August 24th, Twitter^[14] user trayne_wreck posted a screenshot of Twitter^[15] user AriDrennen's reply to Batya Ungar-Sargon, captioning it, "Never getting off this app, etc etc." and earning roughly 182,700 likes in one day (shown below, right).

In the replies^[16] to trayne_wreck's tweet, trayne_wreck and others shared more "This you?" screenshots, starting a thread that continued into August 25th, 2022.

The White House Twitter Thread Of Conservative PPP Loans

On August 24th, 2022, Twitter^[17] user Acyn tweeted a video from a Newsmax segment in which Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was speaking on the White House's recent plan, ultimately condoning its decision. The tweet received over 4,000 likes in one day. On August 25th, 2022, the official Twitter^[18] account of the White House quote retweeted Acyn's video, captioning it, "Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven," and earning roughly 698,300 likes in less than a day (shown below).

In the same minute, the White House Twitter^[19] account added to the thread with another QT of Congressman Vern Buchanan's PPP loans that were forgiven, earning roughly 228,600 likes in less than a day (shown below). The thread ended with a tweet^[19] about Matt Gaetz's PPP loans ($482,321), earning roughly 265,300 likes in less than a day.

Online Reactions and Memes

Almost immediately, the thread inspired reactions on Twitter, mostly in disbelief that the official account of the White House would engage in such posting. For instance, on August 25th, 2022, Twitter^[20] user AhmedBaba_ stated that "The White House Twitter account has gone goblin mode," earning roughly 162,300 likes in less than a day (shown below, left). Also on August 25th, Ben Shapiro tweeted^[21] his take on the White House's thread, earning roughly 22,200 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Many reactions came in the form of memes. For instance, on August 25th, 2022, Twitter^[22] user KingJosiah54 captioned a video of a young, Black boy stumbling over his words with, "Biden: 'How y’all complaining about student loan forgiveness when you had your PPP loan forgiven?' / Politicians:" earning roughly 13,400 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Megan Coyne from New Jersey

After the White House's thread went viral on August 25th, 2022, Twitter^[23] user jeffbcraven tweeted an article about the White House's new social media manager Megan Coyne, a New Jersey native who previously ran the New Jersey government's Twitter account.^[24] The tweet received roughly 55,700 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Search Interest

External References