
A CNN panel devolved into a heated confrontation on Thursday evening after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) repeatedly mispronounced Vice President Kamala Harris’s name during a live interview. The discussion quickly escalated into an argument over respect, race, and political decorum, with the exchange continuing to draw attention on social media.
Mace mispronounced Harris’s first name several times, despite being corrected by other panelists. The situation intensified when author and professor Michael Eric Dyson, also on the panel, criticized former President Trump for recycling past campaign statements. Mace responded by taking aim at Harris, saying, “Talk about reruns, Kamala’s — Kamala’s,” mispronouncing the Vice President’s name in the process.
Former Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin immediately interrupted, urging Mace to pronounce Harris’s name correctly. “You had it right! You almost got it!” Boykin said. However, Mace pushed back, declaring that she would “say Kamala’s name any way that I want to” and then deliberately mispronounced it again.
Dyson then accused Mace of “normalizing” a kind of “viciousness” and disrespect toward Harris. “This congresswoman is a wonderful human being,” Dyson began, “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, but that’s the history and legacy of white disregard for the humanity of Black people.”
Mace fired back, asking Dyson if he was accusing her of being racist, which she called “offensive” and “disgusting.” Dyson denied the accusation but continued to challenge Mace’s behavior.
The exchange escalated further as Mace continued to mispronounce Harris’s name. Dyson and Boykin repeatedly corrected her, with Boykin eventually shouting, “You’re doing this on purpose, congresswoman!” Dyson added, “You’re a white woman disrespecting a Black woman,” amplifying the tension on the panel. Watch the chaos below:
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On Friday, Mace defended her actions, telling The Hill that CNN’s reaction to her mispronunciation was overblown. “CNN’s response to a simple mispronunciation of ‘Kamala’ shows they care more about pronouns and pronunciation than policy,” Mace said. She went on to criticize Harris for not being clear on her policy positions.
The confrontation sparked a significant reaction on social media, with users on X, formerly known as Twitter, expressing shock at Mace’s apparent insistence on saying Harris’s name incorrectly. “Nancy Mace is embarrassing herself because she refuses to condemn Trump’s racism and she refuses to pronounce ‘Kamala’ correctly,” one X user wrote.
Nancy Mace is embarrassing herself because she refuses to condemn Trump's racism and she refuses to pronounce "Kamala" correctly.
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 16, 2024
Neither of those is hard to do… unless you're a racist. https://t.co/RhEJq2Pzri
Michael Eric Dyson and I had to correct Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) at least 10 times last night for purposely mispronouncing Kamala Harris’s name. “I will say Kamala’s name any way that I want to,” Mace said.
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 16, 2024
This is what the Republican Party has become. 🤦🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/RVmS8cbBFe
It’s ridiculous that Keith Boykin & Michael Eric Dyson needed to correct Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) numerous times for intentionally mispronouncing VP Harris’s name.
— Whitney Alese (@TheReclaimed) August 16, 2024
Mace’s response? “I will say Kamala’s name any way that I want to.”
Honestly, just weird.pic.twitter.com/rDz3YeuOWH
Accidentally mispronouncing a name is human.
— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) August 16, 2024
Intentionally mispronouncing a name is sh*tty.
Saying “I will say Kamala’s name any way that I want to,” is disgusting, and Congresswoman Nancy Mace needs to be voted OUT.pic.twitter.com/g4zmZ8yD5Z
In response to the backlash, Mace took to X on Friday, writing, “The most unhinged, sexist, left-winged radicals hyperfixated about how I pronounce Kamala’s name last night.”
This isn’t the first time mispronunciations of Vice President Harris’s name have sparked controversy. Throughout her political career, Harris and her allies have pushed back against those who repeatedly mispronounce her name, often calling out the mispronunciations as a sign of disrespect, if not outright racism.
Harris’s name, which honors her Indian heritage, is pronounced “Comma-la” and means lotus flower. The Biden-Harris campaign frequently highlighted the issue during the 2020 election, pointing to the repeated mispronunciations by Republicans as deliberate and disrespectful.
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