Manchin: “We have about a $31 trillion debt that we have to be really realistic about. And the IRA bill, we had $300 billion being paid down and it seems to wipe this out. But the bottom line, I just thought there was other ways we could do it. I cannot answer when people call me and say, ‘You’re giving x amount of dollars away, $10,000, $20,000 to this class. How about I paid mine off? Why am I penalized?’ And how about the people in the future — “

KEILAR: “And you opposed — sir, you oppose this, but do you think it is — “

Manchin: “Yeah, I would not support it.”

KEILAR: “Yes, that’s right, but do you think — do you think it is going to hurt Democrats during the midterms?”

Manchin: “I can’t — I guess it depends where you are. I can tell you, in West Virginia, when I speak to my friends and colleagues and my constituents back home, they call me and they would ask, ‘Joe, I just can’t make these debt payments for my student loan, what can I do?’ I said, ‘Well, there is things you can do. If you’re into the healthcare field, if you’re into education, if you’re into government services, I can show you how you can eliminate your debt by working it off.’ So, that is a tremendous opportunity so you can walk away debt-free. I think that’s a better alternative than just wiping it off and forgiving it and it leaves people stranded. I think there is a better way to do it and I would have done it differently.”