Senator David Perdue was condemned as a racist for mispronouncing Kamala Harris' name even though former Vice President Joe Biden did ...
Senator David Perdue was condemned as a racist for mispronouncing Kamala Harris' name even though former Vice President Joe Biden did the same hours earlier.
Perdue appeared to mock Biden's running mate at a rally for President Donald Trump in the battleground state of Georgia on Friday, repeatedly mispronouncing the vice presidential nominee's name.
'KAH-mah-la, Kah-MAH-la, Kamala-mala-mala, I don't know, whatever,' the Republican senator from Georgia said at the podium, drawing laughs from the audience.
Harris, a US senator from California, is the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica.
Senator David Perdue (left), a Republican from Georgia, was slammed on social media on Friday after he mispronounced Senator Kamala Harris' name. Hours earlier, Joe Biden (right), who picked Harris as his running mate, also flubbed the name's pronunciation
Harris' political opponents have repeatedly mispronounced her name since she became the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent on a national ticket.
Democrats say the mispronunciations smack of racism.
Her first name is pronounced 'KAH´-mah-lah' - or, as she explains in her biography, '"comma-la," like the punctuation mark.'
Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are among the top Republicans who have repeatedly mispronounced it.
A few Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, have said it incorrectly, too.
Perdue, who is in a closely fought battle for re-election to the senate against Democrat Jon Ossoff, spoke ahead of Trump in the central Georgia city of Macon on Friday evening.
Video of his speech shows Perdue repeatedly making exaggerated attempts to pronounce the name before saying, 'I don't know, whatever.'
Several Democrats, including Barack Obama, Biden, and others, have also mispronounced Harris' name. Biden and Harris are seen above in Phoenix on October 8
The crowd responds with laughter.
Ossoff tweeted that Perdue would not have mocked a fellow senator who was male or white.
Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for Harris, took to Twitter on Friday to respond.
'Well that is incredibly racist,' she wrote.
John Burke, a spokesman for Perdue's campaign, tweeted that the senator 'simply mispronounced Senator Harris' name, and he didn't mean anything by it.'
John Burke, a spokesman for Perdue's campaign, tweeted that the senator 'simply mispronounced Senator Harris' name, and he didn't mean anything by it.'
The Trump campaign posted a video showing Biden at an appearance in Novi, Michigan, hours earlier.
The former vice president also mispronounces his running mate's name, calling her 'Kamala' as if he was saying the word 'camera.'
Republican incumbent Trump is trailing Biden in national opinion polls, but state polls show a close race in Georgia, a state that has become increasingly diverse and more Democratic.
Ossoff, who is running against Perdue in November, tweeted that his opponent 'mocked Sen. Harris' name,' adding, 'We are so much better than this.'
Perdue was assailed on social media. Jennifer Rubin, an opinion writer for The Washington Post, called him 'racist' and 'loathsome'
Another Twitter user accused Perdue of performing to please 'dear leader' Trump
Journalist John Harwood said Perdue's mockery was a 'disgusting racist appeal' to voters
Another Twitter user commented: 'I am smelling the odor of desperation in the Trump enablers'
Shelley Ashworth Lee, a Georgia resident, urged Twitter users in her state to 'vote him out'
Kevin Kruse sarcastically commented that he's 'sure this is an accident and not racist pandering from a desperate politician'
Ossoff, who staged an unsuccessful bid for Congress in a 2017 special election, also tweeted a fundraising message over video of Perdue's comments and said in another tweet, 'Senator Perdue never would have done this to a male colleague. Or a white colleague. And everyone knows it.'
Georgia's Democratic Party demanded that Perdue apologize.
'Senator Perdue's intentionally disrespectful mispronunciation of Senator Harris's name is a bigoted and racist tactic straight from President Trump´s handbook,' Nikema Williams, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, said in a statement.
'He owes Georgians an apology for his offensive display.'
Perdue was assailed on social media. Jennifer Rubin, an opinion writer for The Washington Post, called him 'racist' and 'loathsome.'
Another Twitter user accused Perdue of performing to please 'dear leader' Trump.
'Of course Joe gets a pass, which is also annoying,' tweeted one Twitter user
Rick Bowen mocked Biden's mispronunciation of Harris' name, tweeting: 'Camelandme?!'
Another Twitter user said of Biden: 'This dude needs to retire soon. He don't look too good'
'Are we taking bets on the number of days until he forgets her name?' tweeted another Twitter user. Biden's opponents have questioned whether the effects of aging have taken their toll on the 78-year-old's cognitive functions
'I'm surprised he remembers her at all!' tweeted another Twitter user
Another Twitter user said of Harris: 'Well, she is carrying water for him'
Journalist John Harwood said Perdue's mockery was a 'disgusting racist appeal' to voters.
Another Twitter user commented: 'I am smelling the odor of desperation in the Trump enablers.'
Shelley Ashworth Lee, a Georgia resident, urged Twitter users in her state to 'vote him out.'
Kevin Kruse sarcastically commented that he's 'sure this is an accident and not racist pandering from a desperate politician.'
But others on Twitter noted that Biden also mispronounced Harris' name but was not condemned for it.
'Of course Joe gets a pass, which is also annoying,' tweeted one Twitter user.
Rick Bowen mocked Biden's mispronunciation of Harris' name, tweeting: 'Camelandme?!'
Another Twitter user said of Biden: 'This dude needs to retire soon. He don't look too good.'
'Are we taking bets on the number of days until he forgets her name?' tweeted another Twitter user.
Biden's opponents have questioned whether the effects of aging have taken their toll on the 78-year-old's cognitive functions.
'I'm surprised he remembers her at all!' tweeted another Twitter user.
Another Twitter user said of Harris: 'Well, she is carrying water for him.'
There is a perception among Biden opponents that if he wins election, real power will be exercised by Harris and those around him.
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