Person

Symone Sanders-Townsend

Occupation:

MSNBC Host

Former Spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris

Former Campaign Aide for Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Symone Sanders-Townsend is a political commentator and Democratic Party strategist who hosts “Symone,” an MSNBC weekend program. 1 She was previously the chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris and worked on the 2020 presidential campaign of Joe Biden and the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders. 2

She married Shawn Townsend in July 2022. 3 She is the author of No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America. 4

Early Life and Career

Symone Sanders grew up in North Omaha, Nebraska. One of her earliest political experiences came at age 16 when she introduced former President Bill Clinton at a fundraising event in Omaha in 2006. 5 Clinton said after the introduction, “Symone spoke so well, I really hate to follow her.” Clinton went on to write about her introductory remarks in his book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. 6

Sanders graduated with a business administration degree from Creighton University. 7 After graduation from Creighton, she worked as a Democratic political consultant in Nebraska. She move to Washington in 2014 to work for Global Trade Watch, which is associated with the left-wing group Public Citizen.  8

She previously was the national chair of the Coalition of Juvenile Justice Emerging Leaders Committee. She was also a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice. 9

Presidential Politics

At age 25, Sanders said she didn’t view herself as a democratic socialist but had a “27-interview losing streak for potential jobs” before accepting a role with the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. 10 She was the youngest presidential candidate press secretary on record at the time. 11

Sanders was on Rolling Stone’s list of 16 young Americans shaping the 2016 election. 12

After the 2016 election and before the 2020 campaign, she took on several roles.

She became a strategist for communications and political outreach at Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC.  She was also a Spring 2018 resident fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. 13

She was also a principal at 360 Group LLC, where she did strategic communications work for organizations, businesses, individuals, campaigns, and candidates regarding political and social problems. 14

She became a CNN commentator, and wrote her first book, No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America, published when she was 29 years old. 15 The book’s title came in part to a viral CNN confrontation between former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) and Sanders, in which he told her to “shut up.” 16

The 2020 presidential campaigns of Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Kamala Harris (D-CA) tried to hire her. After she joined the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign, National Journal wrote, “Sanders may be the most prominent black woman advising a presidential campaign today.” 17

In March 2020, Sanders physically tackled a protester who rushed the stage during Biden’s speech on Super Tuesday. 18

After Biden’s victory, at age 31, Sanders was named as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson to Vice President Kamala Harris. 19

While Sanders was on Harris’s staff, the vice president received significant coverage for poor message discipline and staff dysfunction. Upon her departure, Sanders asserted she was not leaving the White House because she was unhappy. 20

Media Career

After MSNBC hired Sanders in early 2022, the New York Times wrote, “Ms. Sanders, who was one of the highest-ranking Black women in the Biden White House, is among the few recognizable personalities in an administration that tends to discourage aides from seeking the spotlight.” 21

First Lady Jill Biden was her first guest on “Symone,” a weekend talk show on the left-leaning news network. 22 She said she wanted “Symone” to not just appeal to Beltway political junkies, but also to people that follow pop culture and reach more young people. 23

She told the New York Times that success in cable news could be a dream fulfilled, noting that as a child she would play an imaginary TV reporter. “I picked up a spoon, a fork, a remote or whatever was there, and I would report on the kitchen,” she told the Times. “I think I watched too much evening news as a child.” 24

When leaving the White House, she told the Omaha World-Herald that she planned, “to continue to be a reliable voice for this White House on the outside, regardless of whatever I do next.” 25 But after taking the MSNBC job, she said, “I’m not here to be a spokesperson for the Biden administration. I had that job already.” 26

She later raised the race and gender issue over questions of whether she could objectively cover the Biden administration. “I think about every white man who has worked in politics, who has worked for a president or a vice president, or gotten a president or vice president elected who has gone onto host a television show or have a successful media career,” she said. “Nobody has ever asked them if they need to reintroduce themselves.” 27

The same year she began her MSNBC show, she married Shawn Townsend in July 2022 in a surprise ceremony in front of about 100 guests, most of whom thought they were attending a casual gathering. 28

Beyond her show on MSNBC, and commentary on CNN, she has also been interviewed on NPR, Fox News, NBC, BET and TV One. She was also profiled in the Washington Post, the New Yorker, ESSENCE Magazine, and ELLE. 29

References

  1. Symone D. Sanders-Townsend. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.symonedsanders.com/bio-symone-sanders
  2. Grynbaum, Michael M. “Symone Sanders, a Top Strategist for Biden and Harris, Is Joining MSNBC.” The New York Times. January 10, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/business/media/symone-sanders-msnbc.html
  3. Taylor, Amanda. “MSNBC’s Symone Sanders Weds Shawn Townsend in Surprise D.C. Ceremony — Even the Guests Were Shocked!” People. July 16, 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://people.com/politics/symone-sanders-marries-shawn-townsend-surprise-dc-wedding/
  4. Symone D. Sanders-Townsend. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.symonedsanders.com/bio-symone-sanders
  5. Holt, Matt. “Symone Sanders.” NJ50 Profile. National Journal. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://nj50.nationaljournal.com/symone-sanders/
  6. “Symone Sanders.” Thinking Heads. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://thinkingheads.com/en/speakers/symone-sanders/
  7. Holt, Matt. “Symone Sanders.” NJ50 Profile. National Journal. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://nj50.nationaljournal.com/symone-sanders/
  8. Leibovich, Mark. “Symone Sanders Bet on Biden, and Herself.” The New York Times. July 3, 2020. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/us/politics/symone-sanders-joe-biden.html
  9. Symone D. Sanders-Townsend. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.symonedsanders.com/bio-symone-sanders
  10. Leibovich, Mark. “Symone Sanders Bet on Biden, and Herself.” The New York Times. July 3, 2020. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/us/politics/symone-sanders-joe-biden.html
  11. Symone D. Sanders-Townsend. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.symonedsanders.com/bio-symone-sanders
  12.  Symone D. Sanders-Townsend. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.symonedsanders.com/bio-symone-sanders
  13. “Symone Sanders.” Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. August 26, 2022. https://iop.harvard.edu/fellows/symone-sanders
  14. “Symone Sanders.” Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. August 26, 2022. https://iop.harvard.edu/fellows/symone-sanders
  15. Symone D. Sanders-Townsend. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.symonedsanders.com/bio-symone-sanders
  16.  Grynbaum, Michael M. “Symone Sanders, a Top Strategist for Biden and Harris, Is Joining MSNBC.” The New York Times. January 10, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/business/media/symone-sanders-msnbc.html
  17.  Holt, Matt. “Symone Sanders.” NJ50 Profile. National Journal. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://nj50.nationaljournal.com/symone-sanders/
  18.  Grynbaum, Michael M. “Symone Sanders, a Top Strategist for Biden and Harris, Is Joining MSNBC.” The New York Times. January 10, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/business/media/symone-sanders-msnbc.html
  19.  Symone D. Sanders-Townsend. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.symonedsanders.com/bio-symone-sanders
  20.  Roberts, Nigel. “Symone Sanders, Strategist And Former Spokeswoman For Kamala Harris, Heads To MSNBC.” BET. January 11, 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.bet.com/article/0bnloy/symone-sanders-msnbc-host-former-kamala-harris-staffer
  21. Grynbaum, Michael M. “Symone Sanders, a Top Strategist for Biden and Harris, Is Joining MSNBC.” The New York Times. January 10, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/business/media/symone-sanders-msnbc.html
  22. Kurtz, Judy. “Symone Sanders on her new MSNBC show: ‘I’m not going to be a spokesperson’ for Biden.” The Hill. May 4, 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/3476106-symone-sanders-on-her-new-msnbc-show-im-not-going-to-be-a-spokesperson-for-biden/
  23. Kurtz, Judy. “Symone Sanders on her new MSNBC show: ‘I’m not going to be a spokesperson’ for Biden.” The Hill. May 4, 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/3476106-symone-sanders-on-her-new-msnbc-show-im-not-going-to-be-a-spokesperson-for-biden/
  24.  Grynbaum, Michael M. “Symone Sanders, a Top Strategist for Biden and Harris, Is Joining MSNBC.” The New York Times. January 10, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/business/media/symone-sanders-msnbc.html
  25. Grynbaum, Michael M. “Symone Sanders, a Top Strategist for Biden and Harris, Is Joining MSNBC.” The New York Times. January 10, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/business/media/symone-sanders-msnbc.html
  26. Kurtz, Judy. “Symone Sanders on her new MSNBC show: ‘I’m not going to be a spokesperson’ for Biden.” The Hill. May 4, 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/3476106-symone-sanders-on-her-new-msnbc-show-im-not-going-to-be-a-spokesperson-for-biden/
  27. Tani, Max and Bice, Allie. “Symone Sanders is ready for her close up.” Politico. May 5, 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook/2022/05/05/symone-sanders-is-ready-for-her-close-up-00030437
  28.  Taylor, Amanda. “MSNBC’s Symone Sanders Weds Shawn Townsend in Surprise D.C. Ceremony — Even the Guests Were Shocked!” People. July 16, 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://people.com/politics/symone-sanders-marries-shawn-townsend-surprise-dc-wedding/
  29.  “Symone Sanders.” Thinking Heads. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://thinkingheads.com/en/speakers/symone-sanders/
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