Rep. Nancy Mace from South Carolina faced significant backlash after mispronouncing Vice President Kamala Harris‘ name during a CNN panel discussion.
On “CNN Newsnight,” Mace stressed an incorrect syllable while saying Harris’ name, which led to strong reactions from Vanderbilt University professor Michael Eric Dyson and Democratic strategist Keith Boykin. They both condemned her actions during the debate. Dyson accused Mace of normalizing disrespect, while Mace insisted on pronouncing the vice president’s name in her own way.
The controversy arose as they discussed Harris’ policies, which Mace claimed were aligned with President Biden’s. During the conversation, she mispronounced “Kamala” on two occasions, prompting Boykin to point out that she had initially said it correctly. Mace retorted that she would continue to use her preferred pronunciation, to which Dyson responded by saying that mispronouncing someone’s name reflects a lack of respect.
“I will say Kamala’s name any way that I want to,” she fired back. However, Dyson replied, “No,” adding, “when you mispronounce her, you misjudge her.” Not backing down, the congresswoman responded, “I just did and I’ll do it again.”
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The discussion became heated, with Boykin stating that if he mispronounced Mace’s name on purpose, it would be inappropriate. “If I purposely mispronounced your name, that would not be appropriate.”
As things simmered down, Dyson seized the moment to express his view that Mace’s mispronunciation had deeper implications related to racism.
“This congresswoman is a wonderful human being, but when you disrespect Kamala Harris by saying you will call her whatever you want, I know you don’t intend it to be that way, that’s the history and legacy of white disregard for the humanity of Black people,” he stated.Â
Bothered and offended, she added, “Oh, so now you’re calling me racist?” Mace asked, adding, “That is BS.” The professor protested, “No, you do not have to intend racism to accomplish it.” From there, he continued lecturing that getting Harris’ name wrong is “part and parcel of a tradition to disrespect.”
Check out the clip below:
Just went back and looked at the timestamps from CNN last night and realized that Nancy Mace started mispronouncing Kamala Harris’s name at 10:05 pm, and even after she was corrected multiple times, she kept doing it until 10:55 pm. Inexcusable disrespect. pic.twitter.com/eyIwSSpTuK
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 16, 2024
Nancy Mace isn’t the only one who has intentionally mispronounce her Kamala Harris’ name wrong. Donald Trump has done so many time during public events and doesn’t plan to correct himself any time soon.