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Symone Sanders-Townsend

Symone D. Sanders-Townsend (born December 10, 1989)[1][2] is an American political strategist and political commentator who hosts MSNBC's The Weekend. She served as national press secretary for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. She left the campaign in June 2016, following the end of the primaries.[3] In October 2016, she was hired as a Democratic strategist and political commentator by CNN.[4]

Symone Sanders-Townsend
Sanders in 2022
Personal details
Born (1989-12-10) December 10, 1989 (age 34)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Shawn Townsend
​
(m. 2022)​
EducationCreighton University (BBA)
WebsiteOfficial website

In April 2019, Sanders joined the 2020 presidential campaign of former vice president Joe Biden as a senior advisor,[5][6] and after Biden won election, was named chief spokesperson and a senior advisor for Vice President Kamala Harris.[7] On December 2, 2021, Sanders announced her resignation from the White House to return to broadcasting.[8]

Early life and education

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Sanders was raised in North Omaha, Nebraska.[9] Her father, Daniel Sanders, is retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[10] Her mother, Terri Sanders, is the former publisher of the Omaha Star and former executive director for the Great Plains Black History Museum.[9][10]

She attended Sacred Heart Catholic School.[11] As a child, Sanders wanted to grow up to host her own television show. She used to walk around the house acting as Donna Burns, an imaginary television host.[1]

Her first job was working at Time Out Foods in Omaha, a Black-owned restaurant.[12] She graduated from High School in 2008 from Mercy.[11]

Sanders attended Creighton University, and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration.[13] While in college, she interned at a law firm, where she realized she didn't want to work in law.[12]

Career

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Sanders worked in the communications office of former Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle, and she was deputy communications director for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chuck Hassebrook in 2014.[13][11]

In August 2015, Sanders joined the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign as the national press secretary.[13] In December, Fusion listed Sanders as one of 30 women under 30 who would shape the 2016 election.[14]

In June 2016, she quit the Sanders campaign.[15] Later that year, she joined CNN as an analyst and commentator,[16] and was recognized by Rolling Stone magazine[17] as one of 16 Young Americans Shaping the 2016 Election.

She subsequently joined the presidential campaign of former vice president Joe Biden.[5][6] In 2020, she published a memoir, No, You Shut Up,[1] relating her personal experiences of speaking up to effectively fight ideological battles.

On November 29, 2020, Sanders was named chief spokesperson and a senior advisor for Vice President Kamala Harris.[18] On December 1, 2021, Symone Sanders announced her departure from that role.[19]

Shortly thereafter, MSNBC announced she would host a weekend program for the network, as well as a program on Peacock's The Choice.[20] The new MSNBC program, Symone, premiered on May 7, 2022.[21]

As of November 19, 2023 the show was the 24th most popular show on MSNBC and 292nd overall on TV, watched by a total number of 438,000 people.[22]

On November 30, 2023, MSNBC announced that Sanders would move to weekend mornings to anchor a new program, The Weekend, along with Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele. Her weekend show on MSNBC and on Peacock, Symone, ended on January 7, 2024, with The Weekend premiering on the same day.[23]

Personal life

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Sanders-Townsend's husband is Shawn Townsend,[1] Washington D.C.'s former "Night Mayor".[24] The couple wed on Friday, July 15, 2022.[25] They live in Washington, D.C.[26]

Works

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  • No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America. New York: Harper (2020). ISBN 0062942689

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Leibovich, Mark (July 3, 2020). "Symone Sanders Bet on Biden, and Herself". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "Sunday's birthdays". POLITICO. December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Joyce, Andrew (June 26, 2016). "Symone Sanders Quits As National Press Secretary for Bernie Sanders". Fusion. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  4. ^ "BIO – Symone D. Sanders". Symonedsanders.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Floyd, Jessica A. (May 22, 2019). "Black Staff Matters: Behind the Scenes with the Biden 2020 Team". Ebony. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Ex-Bernie Sanders Press Secretary Joins Biden's Campaign As Senior Adviser". HuffPost. April 25, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  7. ^ Linskey, Annie; Stein, Jeff (November 29, 2020). "Biden hires all-female senior communications team, names Neera Tanden director of OMB". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Wright, Jasmine; Vazquez, Maegan (December 2, 2021). "Symone Sanders, Harris' chief spokesperson, to leave White House". CNN. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Sanderford, Aaron (November 29, 2020). "Omaha's Symone Sanders will be chief spokeswoman for VP-elect Kamala Harris". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Tysver, Robynn. "Creighton grad Symone Sanders brings trademark energy to role as Bernie Sanders' press secretary". Omaha.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  11. ^ a b c "'We just saw what was happening and jumped in': Omaha's Symone Sanders on that protester takedown". The North Platte Telegraph. March 4, 2020. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Feller, Madison (September 24, 2020). "From Bernie to Biden: Symone Sanders on Her Historic Career and What's Next". ELLE. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c Tysver, Robynn (October 16, 2019). "Creighton grad Symone Sanders brings trademark energy to role as Bernie Sanders' press secretary". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "Meet the 30 Women Who Will Change the Election". Fusion. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  15. ^ Landers, Elizabeth (June 27, 2016). "Sanders press secretary exits campaign". CNN. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  16. ^ Strauss, Daniel (December 22, 2019). "Why Symone Sanders Went From Bernie to Biden". Politico. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "16 Young Americans Shaping the 2016 Election". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  18. ^ "Biden picks top campaign aides in key communications roles". Reuters. November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  19. ^ Wright, Jasmine; Vazquez, Maegan (December 2, 2021). "Symone Sanders, Harris' chief spokesperson, to leave White House". CNN. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  20. ^ Tani, Max (January 10, 2022). "Symone Sanders lands at MSNBC". POLITICO. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  21. ^ Johnson, Ted (March 11, 2022). "Symone Sandes' New MSNBC Show To Debut On May 7". Deadline. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  22. ^ "Symone Ratings". ustvdb.com. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  23. ^ Johnson, Ted (November 30, 2023). "MSNBC To Drop Mehdi Hasan's Show, Launch 'The Weekend' As Part Of Overhaul Of Saturday And Sunday Lineup". Deadline. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  24. ^ Terris, Ben. "She's chasing a Washington dream. He's the Night Mayor". Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  25. ^ Symone Sanders Weds Shawn Townsend in Surprise D.C. Ceremony People Retrieved August 27, 2022
  26. ^ Linskey, Annie (July 3, 2020). "Symone Sanders, Biden's top African American aide, faces pressure from all sides". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
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