With only days until Symone Sanders’ new MSNBC show officially launches, the former senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris is insisting she will not be a spokesperson for President Biden during the weekly program.
“I’m not here to be a spokesperson for the Biden administration,” Sanders told The Hill’s “In the Know.”
“I had that job already,” she said.
“I’m going to be honest, and sometimes the honesty means that what I have to say is not what the administration would have to say. And that’s fine because it’s my show.”
Sanders, 32, revealed that the weekend program — which premieres May 7 and will run every Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. — will cover a variety of topics from Congress to pop culture and stories “beyond the Beltway.”
“We’re going to do today’s headlines, but we’re going to go deeper. We’re going to get to the weeds,” she said.
The upcoming show was first announced in January, only weeks after Sanders departed her job in the vice president’s office.
At the time of her departure, Sanders said she was grateful to Harris for her “vote of confidence from the very beginning and the opportunity to see what can be unburned by what has been.”
Weeks later, the former aide announced on Twitter that she would be moving to MSNBC.
“Well I guess I have some news to share this morning. I am excited to join @MSNBC and @TheChoice! I look forward to working with some of the most talented and amazing people in news,” she wrote.
“There is a lot to learn, but I’m ready to get to work!” Sanders continued.
In addition to her weekend show, Sanders will be appearing on streaming service Peacock’s “The MSNBC Hub on Peacock” on Mondays and Tuesday.
Sanders told “In the Know” that she chose to work with MSNBC due to its “really great track record in streaming.”
“I’m a millennial, and the only reason, frankly, I was turning on the TV was because of the job that I worked,” she said. “When I wake up in the morning, I’m checking Twitter, I’m checking Instagram, I check my email, I check my text message, and I would not turn on the TV … And then the first time I see a television that’s on is when I walk into my office.”
She said her show will “reach people like me: young people who are engaged, who are paying attention, who care, but who may not be watching TV as regularly.”
Before working at the White House, Sanders served as a senior adviser on Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. Previously, she also worked as press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaign.
Her departure from Harris’ office came as several other top staff members — including communication director Ashley Etienne — also left. The departures also coincided with reports of a poor working environment in the veep’s office.
Most recently, Harris’ chief of staff Tina Flournoy announced she would be leaving her position after 15 months.
