MSNBC anchor Symone Sanders-Townsend has suggested she had a bad experience working for her former boss, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sanders-Townsend, who served as Harris’ chief spokesperson and senior adviser before joining MSNBC in 2022, appeared with Jen Psaki, another Biden administration veteran turned MSNBC host, to discuss the attacks on the presumptive Democratic nominee and how she’s handling them.
“The thing about being first is that you’re the first — whether you’re the first woman, the first person of color, etc. — sometimes people don’t know how to treat you. They don’t know how to handle that,” Sanders-Townsend began Thursday. “And so they resort, unfortunately, sometimes to racist and sexist tropes and memes and stereotypes.”
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Former Kamala Harris aide Symone Sanders-Townsend has suggested she had a bad experience working for the vice president. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
The liberal MSNBC host then returned to her own personal experience working with Harris.
“It was new for me to work for her because I had never worked for a high-ranking woman before. I had only worked for men,” Sanders-Townsend told Psaki.
She continued: “There was a day at work where I thought, ‘Ma’am, you may be the last woman I work for because this is… there’s a lot we have to deal with here.'”
“There’s a story there,” Psaki said with a laugh.
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Vice President Kamala Harris is known for having experienced numerous staff departures during her time in office. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
“But she was always aware of the criticism that was being leveled at her, right?” Sanders-Townsend said. “When I worked there, we didn’t hide it from her. But it didn’t deter her. It’s something that I think any candidate, any candidate, any person in office has to be aware of the criticism.”
“Because when you’re not in the loop, the last thing you want is for your candidate, your manager, the vice president of the United States of America, to be there and for someone to say something and say, ‘What the hell is that?’ ‘Well, ma’am, we discussed that this morning at 10 o’clock,'” she added.
“Yes,” Psaki agreed. “I mean, it’s important that they’re aware of it, which is a very interesting thing. It’s how they respond to it that matters.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris quickly became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in 2024 after President Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 White House race. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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During her tenure as vice president, Harris has faced multiple staff exoduses from her office, fueling criticism of high turnover among her inner circle.
Harris quickly became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after President Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.
