Leave it to Vice President Kamala Harris to mess up something as simple as a personnel decision.
Last week, her office announced that Jamal Simmons would replace former communications director Ashley Etienne, who left the White House in December. Etienne is one of several staffers to leave HarrisāĀ office in the past six months.
Unfortunately for Harris, the move has led to a new round of embarrassment for the embattled vice president.
When he was a commentator for The Hill, Simmons seemingly questioned President Joe Bidenās mental acuity.
In a 2019 episode of his show āWhy You Should Care,ā he did a segment about then-candidate Bidenās falsehoods and gaffes called āDazed and Confused?ā
āIt seems like we do this story about once a week. ⦠Itās what you get with Uncle Joe,ā Simmons said.
In addition to those comments, Simmons appeared to take aim at weak policies on Illegal immigration in a 2010 Tweet.
āJust saw 2 undocumented folks talking on MSNBC,ā he said. āOne Law student the other a protester. Can someone explain why ICE is not picking them up?ā
That flies in the face of Biden and Harrisā lax approach to border security.
Moreover, Federal Election Commission filings show that Simmons made a $250 contribution to Republican Sen. Rand Paulās presidential campaign in June 2015, according to Yahoo News.
The report indicated, however, that all of his other political donations have been to Democrats, including a donation to Harrisā 2015 Senate campaign.
More recently, Simmons denigrated the COVID-19 vaccines developed under then-President Donald Trumpās Operation Warp Speed:
On Friday, he responded to criticism of his comments.
āAs a pundit I tweeted+spoke A LOT,ā Simmons said on Twitter. āAt times Iāve been sarcastic, unclear or plainly missed the mark.
āI apologize for offending ppl who care as much as I do about making America the best, multiethnic, diverse democracy+Iāll rep the Biden-Harris admin w/humility, sincerity+respect.ā
Regarding the Tweet about illegal immigrants, he said, āFor the record, Iāve never advocated for, nor believed that Dreamers should be targeted by ICE agents. Iāve been for DACA + comprehensive immigration reform for years. Frankly, itās depressing ppl can forget about every other thing Iāve said in public on this bc of bad tweets.ā
Yahoo reported that Simmons was deputy communications director for Democrat Al Goreās failed 2000 presidential campaign.
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According to The Hill, he also worked for former Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, one-time presidential candidate Wesley Clark and former Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan, all of whom are Democrats.
In addition, Simmons provided political commentary for left-leaning media outlets such as CNN and CBS News.
He is now tasked with crafting a positive narrative around some of the issues and politicians he previously criticized.
Letās see what Simmons can accomplish for the vice president, whose first year in office has been underwhelming at best.
Her tenure can be compared to a bull in China shop who moves from one disaster to the next leaving destruction in her wake.
Harrisā approval ratingĀ dipped into the 20s several months ago but now stands at 39 percent, according to theĀ RealClearPolitics average. The vice presidentās average disapproval is at 53.
Will Simmons make a difference? Well, heās not off to a very good start.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
