Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. stepped into a hornet’s nest of criticism after mispronouncing Vice President Kamala Harris’ name during a CNN panel.
Appearing on “CNN Newsnight” on Thursday, Mace stressed the wrong syllable when pronouncing Harris’ name, prompting outrage from Vanderbilt University professor Michael Eric Dyson and Democratic strategist Keith Boykin, both of whom raised their voices to condemn her.
“You’re normalizing that kind of viciousness, man,” Dyson told Mace, who would insist on pronouncing the vice president’s name however she wants.
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The eruption of discontent happened during a discussion on Harris’ policies, which Mace was attempting to say are the same as President Biden’s. In the process, Mace said “Kamala” two different ways, prompting Boykin to respond, “You had it right. You almost got it.”
“I will say Kamala’s name any way that I want to,” Mace fired back. 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.”
Mace’s defiance appeared to irk Boykin, who stammered, “You’re purposely mispronouncing her name.” Meanwhile, Dyson was talking at the same time, stating, “That’s a refusal to acknowledge her humanity.”
The crosstalk died down momentarily as Boykin told Mace, “If I purposely mispronounced your name, that would not be appropriate.” Dyson got one last word in about the lawmaker “normalizing” viciousness, but the lawmaker was able to get back to talking about the Biden/Harris policies.
Later in the show, the topic flared up again, sparking another contentious exchange with the media pundits.
Dyson found an opening to tell Mace how he really felt about her mispronunciation of Harris’ name, tying it to racism.
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“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 declared.
“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.” Things grew more heated as both individuals started talking over each other. Through the crosstalk, Mace could be heard calling Dyson’s accusations “offensive,” while he continued lecturing that getting Harris’ name wrong is “part and parcel of a tradition to disrespect.”
By this point, Boykin tried to jump back in, adding one more voice to the chaos, though he wasn’t able to get word in as Dyson and Mace continued arguing.
As anchor Abby Phillip tried to get both to calm down, the argument continued. While Mace was trying to share her perspective, Dyson chirped at her, saying things like, “So call her name right,” and “So pronounce her name right.”
Mace then pronounced Harris’ first name wrong yet again, which sent the panel into an uproar. Dyson declared, “It’s Kamala!” An animated Boykin shouted and pointed, “It’s Kamala! You’re doing this on purpose, Congresswoman!”
Dyson got the last word in, saying, “You’re a White woman disrespecting a Black woman. That is problematic. That is racist.”
