If President Biden wants to make good on his vow to be a “transitional figure,” he should resign from the presidency now and let Kamala Harris lead the United States until Donald Trump is sworn in. That’s the belief voiced by former Harris communications director Jamal Simmons on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
The move would benefit the party in several ways, he added. “It would absolve her from having to oversee the January 6th transition, right, 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 time, this is the moment for us to change the entire perspective of how Democrats operate.”
“Okay, this has now jumped from an internet meme to a Sunday morning show!” Dana Bash exclaimed. “Congratulations!”
Despite that skeptical reception Simmons reiterated his position on social media. “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,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“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.”
Filmmaker and producer Andy Ostry agreed, though he offered a different reason. “I 1000% agree with what @JamalSimmons just said on CNN: That #Biden should immediately resign and allow #KamalaHarris to become the 47th president. Let’s at least allow America to finally have a woman in the Oval Office, even if only for 2 1/2 months…” he wrote on the platform.
The suggestion that Biden resign and let Harris become president has bubbled up from social media chatter to mainstream reporting this week. On Saturday, The Guardian published a reader letter that read, “Joe Biden should resign on his 82nd birthday on 20 November, allowing Kamala Harris to become America’s first female president, till 20 January. That would be a decent legacy.”
On Thursday filmmaker Darryl Wharton-Rigby made a similar request. “Dear Joe Biden,” he wrote on X. “Want to go out as a legend? Resign on Dec 1st and let Kamala Harris complete the term. She’ll officially be 47 and the first woman president. Go full dark Brandon.”
You can watch the clip from “State of the Union” in the video above.
