Vice President Kamala Harris’s new communications director, Jamal Simmons, dismissed former President George W. Bush as an “illegitimate” president repeatedly and spread conspiracy theories about his 2000 election victory.
Simmons insisted that Bush stole the 2000 election from Democrat candidate Al Gore, saying in June 2012: “I worked for Gore 2000 & believe W’s 1st term to have been illegitimate. Yet when in the room w/him I stood and gave ofc [office] respect.”
In a different tweet that same year, he claimed “Gore didn’t lose.”
And again in 2017, he said, “I worked for Gore. Thought W was illegitimate. Still stood for him in respect for office. Members of Congress should go to inauguration.”
As recently as January of last year, Simmons was claiming that Bush “stole” the 2000 election.
The Trump vs Biden equivalency is wrong. Trump was an anti-Democratic huckster grifting the country while unleashing our demons. Biden is the #Democratic version of McCain – a good man I disagreed with. I thought W stole the 2000 elex but I still stood when he entered a room. https://t.co/d2xHkgvCZh
— Jamal Simmons (@JamalSimmons) January 21, 2021
Simmons has already had to apologize for several statements he made in the past, including old tweets in which he advocated for deporting illegal immigrants. The White House has continued to defend his hiring.
“As a pundit for much of my career I have tweeted a lot and spoken out on public issues,” Simmons said in a statement last week.
“Sometimes I have been sarcastic, unclear, or just plainly missed the mark,” he said. “I sincerely apologize for offending those who care as much as I do about making America the best, multi-ethnic, diverse democracy it can be.
“I know the role I am taking on is to represent the Biden-Harris administration, and I will do so with humility, sincerity and respect,” he added.
