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By Mandy Taheri
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Former President Bill Clinton mispronounced Vice President Kamala Harris' name during his speech in support of her candidacy at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Wednesday night.
The pronunciation of Harris' name has sparked tense debates over the past few weeks after she entered the presidential race following President Joe Biden's exit. However, the pronunciation of her name, which is "Comma-la," has been a heated topic for years.
Republicans' mispronunciation of Harris' name, including Republican South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace's heated conversation on a CNN panel last Thursday, has been called out over the years for being part of a racist attack on Harris, the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president and the Democratic nominee for president.
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Numerous Republican speakers said her name incorrectly during the Republican National Convention (RNC) last month. Former President Donald Trump, who is running against Harris in the 2024 presidential election, has claimed that Harris herself doesn't know how to pronounce her name, saying back in 2020, "Even though she can't pronounce it right."
But Democrats have also mispronounced her name on multiple occasions, including Biden, who has referred to her as "Camel-a" several times during his presidential term.
On Wednesday night, Clinton referred to the soon-to-be Democratic nominee that way during his DNC speech. He said to the crowd, "We need [Camel-a] Harris."
Some Republicans have already called out Clinton for his mispronunciation, such as Newsmax host Todd Starnes, who wrote on social media: "Will the DNC condemn and censure Bill Clinton for continuously mispronouncing Kamala's name? He called her "Camel-a." Democrats say mispronouncing her name is racist."
Conservative radio host Jason Rantz, posted a video of Clinton saying "Camel-a" on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday night, with the caption: "Remember, mispronouncing Kamala Harris is a dog whistle that shows you're a virulent racist and there can be no other explanation!!!"
Last week, Mace was in a heated back-and-forth with Michael Eric Dyson, after she acknowledged that she mispronounced the vice president's first name and said: "I will say Kamala's name any way that I want to." Dyson told Mace: "You're normalizing that kind of viciousness, ma'am. You're disrespecting the woman."
Harris supporters on social media called Mace's refusal to correctly pronounce Harris' name "racist."
Following his Wednesday night speech, some on social media are using the same label toward Clinton.
Update 8/21/24, 10:22 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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