Symone D. Sanders-Townsend

Symone Danielle Sanders-Townsend (born December 10, 1989) is an American political strategist and political commentator who hosts MS NOW's The Weeknight. A former member of the Democratic Party, she served as national press secretary for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. In October 2016, she was hired as a political commentator by CNN.

In April 2019, Sanders joined the 2020 presidential campaign of former vice president Joe Biden as a senior advisor, and after Biden won election, was named chief spokesperson and a senior advisor for Vice President Kamala Harris. On December 2, 2021, Sanders announced her resignation from the White House to return to broadcasting. She currently co-hosts MS NOW's The Weekend and 7 pm ET weekday broadcasts with Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele.

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

Her first job was working at Time Out Foods in Omaha, a Black-owned restaurant. She graduated in 2008 from Mercy High School. While in college, she interned at a law firm, where she realized she didn't want to work in law.

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

In 2019, Sanders-Townsend served as a Fellow at the USC Center for the Political Future.

She subsequently joined the presidential campaign of former vice president Joe Biden. On December 1, 2021, Symone Sanders announced her departure from that role.

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

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.

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.

Starting February 24, 2025, Sanders and her other co-hosts on The Weekend would co-host a newscast on MSNBC's weekday 7pm ET time slot which was previously occupied by Joy Reid's The ReidOut. On March 15, 2025, Sanders-Townsend announced that she was leaving the Democratic Party to become an Independent, citing the party's response to a Republican government funding bill.

Personal life Sanders-Townsend's husband is Shawn Townsend, The couple wed on Friday, July 15, 2022. They live in Washington, D.C.

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