Former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, Jamal Simmons, surprised a CNN panel Sunday by suggesting President Biden step down to allow Harris to serve as the first female president.
“Joe Biden’s been a phenomenal president, he’s lived up to so many of the promises he’s made. There’s one promise left that he could fulfill, being a transitional figure,” Simmons said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He could resign the presidency in the next 30 days, make Kamala Harris President of the United States—”
The panel, including host Dana Bash, reacted audibly to the idea.
He continued, “It would absolve her from having to oversee the January 6th transition of her own defeat. And it would make sure, it would dominate the news, at a point where Democrats have to learn, drama and transparency and doing things the public want to see. This is the moment for us to change the entire perspective of how Democrats operate.”
Former Harris staffer Jamal Simmons suggested a way the vice president can still become president. (CNN screenshot)
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“This has now jumped from an internet meme to a Sunday morning show,” Bash responded.
Fellow panel member and CNN commentator Scott Jennings remarked, “Jamal’s out here writing a season of ‘House of Cards.’”
When Bash asked Simmons about Harris’ chances of being nominated to the Supreme Court, he reiterated his call for Harris as president.
“This is something within Joe Biden‘s control. If he did it, it would, again, fulfill his last promise and give Kamala Harris a chance to be the 47th President of the United States of America. It would disrupt all of Donald Trump‘s paraphernalia, right? He‘d have to rebrand everything. And make it easier for the next woman president not have to hold all that weight of being the first,” Simmons said.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, left, watches as President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Simmons also floated the idea on his X account.
“Joe Biden has been amazing but he should fulfill one last promise – to be transitional. Biden should resign and make Kamala Harris the first woman president. It’d turn tables on Trump, keep Kamala from presiding over Jan 6 make it easier for next woman to run,” Simmons wrote. “Dems have better policies but we must realize the old rules no longer apply. We are not playing table tennis. We are in a mixed martial arts fight and Americans respond to drama and excitement. We should use that to make our arguments for a better path forward.”
Simmons’ comments came a few days after a CNN commentator suggested Justice Sonia Sotomayor step down for Biden to replace her with Harris before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.