Social media reacts to Nancy Mace’s ’embarrassing’ attempt to mispronounce ‘Kamala’

People on social media are criticizing the “embarrassing” behavior of Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who repeatedly mispronounced Vice President Kamala Harris’ name during an appearance on CNN.

During Thursday’s episode of “NewsNight With Abby Phillip,” Mace criticized Harris on several policy issues and accused the Democratic presidential candidate of not knowing “what a woman is.”

At one point during the discussion, guest panelist Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of African-American studies at Vanderbilt University, evaluated the Democrat’s campaign strategy, when Mace attacked Harris’ record in the U.S. Senate and as vice president.

The Republican initially pronounced “Kamala” correctly, but then quickly changed course and said her name with the emphasis on the second syllable instead of the first.

Harris, who has clarified how she pronounces her name several times, has previously suggested remembering the pronunciation as “comma-la.” A traditional pronunciation of the Native American name is closer to “com’la.”

When other CNN panelists pointed out the mispronunciation, Mace responded, “I’ll pronounce Kamala’s name any way I want.”

Dyson and another guest panelist, Keith Boykin (a former White House adviser during the Bill Clinton presidency) subsequently criticized Mace for behaving inappropriately and disrespectfully.

Dyson also claimed that, even if it wasn’t her intention, Mace’s mispronunciation of Harris’ name was an example of “the history and legacy of white people’s disregard for the humanity of black people.”

“Oh, so now you’re calling me racist. That’s BS. That’s complete BS,” Mace responded.

“I just said you’re not a racist,” Dyson replied, after which the two got into an argument.

Mace had also mispronounced Harris’ name several times earlier in the segment, with her fellow panelists making several attempts to correct her.

Guest panelist Marc Lotter, who served as communications director for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, apologized for mispronouncing the vice president’s name elsewhere on the show.

“I even learned how to say that, and I messed it up,” he said. “I understand, I apologize.”

Meanwhile, Trump, who consistently mispronounces the vice president’s first name, has also doubled down.

The Republican presidential candidate told a conservative Christian group during a speech in Florida last month that he didn’t care if he mispronounced her name.

“[It] “It doesn’t matter what I say,” he said at the time, while also suggesting that he wasn’t mispronouncing her name on purpose.

“I don’t give a damn if I pronounce it wrong or not. I don’t give a damn,” he continued.

People on X, formerly Twitter, were baffled by Mace’s apparent persistence in mispronouncing Harris’ name on CNN.

“Nancy Mace is making a fool of herself by refusing to condemn Trump’s racism and refusing to pronounce ‘Kamala’ correctly,” wrote one X user.

Mace responded to some of the negative backlash by writing on X on Friday that the “most deranged, sexist, left-wing radicals were hyper-fixated on the way I said Kamala’s name last night.”

Check out some of the reactions to Mace’s appearance on CNN below:

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