Nancy Mace face heavy backlash for Deliberately mispronouncing Vice President Kamala Harris name

Representative Nancy Mace of the United States has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks after purposefully mispronouncing Vice President Kamala Harris’s name in a television interview at CNN anchored by Abby Phillip, a well-known CNN anchor and political correspondent.

The episode, which happened on a CNN panel, has caused a lot of anger and brought attention to more fundamental problems in American politics concerning identity, race, and respect.

Nancy Mace was joined on the CNN panel that featured the debate over Kamala Harris’s name by several prominent individuals.

Michael Eric Dyson, a well-known public thinker and professor of African American studies known for his work on racial relations and social justice, was one of the main panelists. The multi-book author Dyson frequently weighs in on major media platforms.

Keith Boykin, an American political pundit, writer, and former White House adviser to President Bill Clinton, was also a member of the panel.

Boykin is well-known for his support of racial and LGBTQ rights, and he frequently participates in television debates on these subjects.

The debate started when South Carolina Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace talked about Vice President Harris on CNN. At first, Nancy Mace pronounced Kamala Harris’s name correctly; however, she soon began purposefully mispronouncing it.

Upon being corrected by other panelists, Nancy Mace shouted, “I will say Kamala’s name anyway I want to.” Harris is the first woman of South Asian and African American origin to assume the post of Vice President.

The panelists and audience alike swiftly criticized Harris for her obstinate stance, viewing it as a flagrant display of contempt.

Public personalities and users of social media condemned the mispronunciation. Nancy Mace’s actions, according to critics, were not only rude but also representative of a broader pattern of racial insensitivity.

Prominent African American studies professor Michael Eric Dyson, who was on the panel, noted that this kind of behavior is indicative of a historical disdain for the humanity of Black people.

He underlined that even while Nancy Mace might not have meant to offend, her conduct nonetheless spoke to the history of racial insensitivity in the United States.​

Another panelist, Keith Boykin, lectured Nancy Mace even more, saying that she should treat others with the same decency if she wanted her service to be honored.

Many social media users agreed with this sentiment, with one saying, “Mispronouncing words incorrectly by accident is one thing, but doing so on purpose is unacceptable.” There was an instant and strong outcry, with many denouncing Nancy Mace’s conduct as embarrassing and a disgrace to the Republican Party.​