Jamal Simmons, a former communications director for Kamala Harris, offered an unexpected scenario for how the vice president might still become president in 2024: if Joe Biden were to step down from office.
During Sunday’s episode of CNN’s State of the Union, panelists Scott Jennings, Ashley Allison, and Brad Todd were asked what they believed would be the most critical events to watch in the 71 days leading up to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. They pointed to developments such as the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Trump’s actions as he begins to form his administration.
Simmons took this approach. Biden “could resign the presidency in the next 30 days (and) make Kamala Harris the president of the United States.”
He continued: “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 can fulfill: being a transitional figure.”
There is no indication that Biden is considering leaving office before the end of his term. Simmons argued that such a move would spare Harris from presiding over “her own defeat” when the Senate certifies the presidential election results and would seize public attention at a time when Democrats need to capture it. As vice president, Harris also holds the role of president of the Senate, which includes overseeing Congress’s certification of presidential election results.
Host Dana Bash said that the idea had “jumped from an internet meme to a Sunday morning show.”
Others have joked about Biden clearing a potential path for Harris.
On “Pod Save America” co-host and former speechwriter for former President Barack Obama Jon Lovett said Harris losing meant “Jimmy Carter has to stay alive for four more years now.”
Reports say Carter, who recently turned 100, was hanging on to vote for Harris.
“I mean, there is still a chance Jimmy Carter sees a female president before he dies,” Lovett said. “But it requires Joe Biden doing something awesome.”
Simmons added: “This is a moment… to change the entire perspective of how Democrats operate.”
But not everyone agreed.
“Jamal, thought you were writing the new season of ‘House of Cards,’” Jennings, a former special assistant to former President George W. Bush, retorted.
The move won’t happen, he added.
“This is something that’s in Joe Biden’s control. It would fulfill his 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,” he added, referring to popular Trump merchandise branded with “47.” “He’d have to rebrand everything.”
