By C. Douglas Golden November 11, 2024 at 7:27am
Jamal Simmons is nuttier than a Snickers factory. He does not even occasionally commute to reality, much less live in it. And on Sunday, he proved that again during an appearance on CNN.
The fact that Simmons is insane, kooky, outré, certifiable, unhinged, sectionable, mental, whatever word you want to use for it — this isn’t news. The fact that so many people on social media seem to think that what he suggested was perfectly reasonable, however, was.
Simmons, for those of you unfamiliar with him, is the former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, a position he held from 2022 to 2023. He’s now a political commentator, a calling which allows him to give air to his more inane ideas.
His arrantly absurd idea this time? Make Kamala Harris the 47th president. Because why not?
The suggestion came during a panel discussion on “State of the Union,” when host Dana Bash asked the pundits what they were looking for in the 71 days before Donald Trump became president again.
Simmons went first — and pretty much everything after him was moot, given the risible nature of his suggestion.
“Joe Biden’s been a phenomenal president. He’s lived up to so many of the promises he’s made,” Simmons said.
“There’s one promise left that he could fulfill: being a transitional figure. He could resign the presidency in the next 30 days, make Kamala Harris the president of the United States.”
It wasn’t just Scott Jennings — ever the voice of reason on CNN — who was blown away by this. Bash was, too.
Do you trust Kamala Harris?
But seriously, Simmons insisted! This would be a great idea for a number of reasons, all of them not-great.
“It would absolve him from being able to — from having to oversee the Jan. 6 transition, right, of her own defeat,” he continued. “And it would make sure that — it would dominate the news at a point where Democrats have to learn drama and transparency and doing things that the public want to see is a time — this is the moment for us to change the entire perspective of how Democrats operate.”
“If he did it, it would — again, it would fulfill his promise, his last promise. It would give Kamala Harris the chance to be the 47th president of the United States of America. It would disrupt all of Donald Trump’s paraphernalia, right? He would have to rebrand everything,” he added.
“And it would make it easier for the next woman who runs for president to not have to worry about all the historical weight of being the first [woman president].”
How can Biden create history in the next 71 days?
One Former Biden White House Aide has a surprising suggestion. pic.twitter.com/fzT3FCKGGJ— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) November 10, 2024
Jennings might have put it best: “Jamal’s out here writing an extra season of ‘House of Cards.’”
This wasn’t just a lark, apparently. No, Simmons took to social media to confirm that, yes, he really thinks this would be a good idea:
Biden should resign and make Kamala #47. What I said on @CNNSOTU this morning. https://t.co/3KqmTMFuyL
— Jamal Simmons (@JamalSimmons) November 10, 2024
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. #trailblazepodcast
— Jamal Simmons (@JamalSimmons) November 10, 2024
And, in fact, there were people who agreed with him:
If Biden were to resign and Harris become president for the next 70 days, it would…
1. Break the ultimate glass ceiling and free any future woman presidential candidate from fighting to be the first.
2. Mess up all Trump’s 47th president merch.
— Allan Piper (@apiper13) November 10, 2024
Jamal is the MAN and makes a really good point.
— Lowell Rickert (@LTR71) November 10, 2024
Yes, there’s nothing that says going out with dignity than handing the reins of the presidency over to a woman who got thoroughly trounced because, you know, it’d mess up some merchandise and stuff.
Also, consider the message. This is the party that continually harps on the statistic that women make something like 78 percent of what men do. Never mind that the statistic is misleading, we’ll just go with it. The first woman president will, having done the math, served just 4 percent of a man’s presidential term. Glass ceiling broken, America! You’re welcome.
Oh, and remember the conniptions that the Democrats had about Kamala being called a “DEI hire?” Well, now you have her former communications director expressly calling for her to be a DEI hire in a different position. Chef’s kiss.
This is actually perfect. Kamala Harris, who owes her entire career not to her skills but to DEI, can put a cherry on top of her political career by being handed one more thing she didn’t earn.
Love it. https://t.co/AmU6OU3ff7
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) November 10, 2024
To be fair, Simmons’ idea didn’t gain widespread traction, although enough people fell for it to further reduce my low estimation of blue-state America. However, even hyper-facile #Resistance dullard Brian Krassenstein correctly identified how imbecilic this was:
It’s a stupid idea for Biden to resign and give Harris the Presidency.
Let the first woman President prove that she can win it herself, without a man giving it to her.
We will have a female President. It’s just matter of time. Don’t ruin the moment by doing it this way.… pic.twitter.com/qoFgv09h9R
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) November 10, 2024
When one of the Krassenstein brothers is telling you something is dumb, it’s likely aggressively dumb.
But hey, why not “dominate the news” by making her president — and proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that America made the right choice last Tuesday? Go for it, Democrats.
Make this whole sham of a campaign even more ridiculous than it already has been.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he’s written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he’s written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture
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