Democrats see racism in GOP mispronunciations of 'Kamala'

 Bantering during final night of Democratic National Convention, actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang repeatedly got name of “our current vice president" wrong. Was it “Mika Pints?” or “Paints?” Or maybe “Ponce," Yang suggested.

“Oh, some kind of weird foreign name?" Louis-Dreyfus asked.

“Yeah, t very American sounding," Yang replied.

It was a quick bit of satire with a pointed mess from Democrats: When top Republicans — including President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence — misprounce Democratic vice presidential minee Kamala Harris’ first name, it's t just disrespectful, it's racist.

Harris' first name is prounced “KAH'-mah-lah” — or, as she explains in her biography, “'comma-la,' like punctuation mark." But mispronunciations have been rampant in days since California senator became first Black woman and first Asian American woman named to a major party's ticket. Pence referred to her as “kah-MAH'-lah,” putting his emphasis on second syllable, at events last week. Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel did same on Wednesday, as did Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday, day after Harris delivered a prime-time speech accepting Democratic mination — a speech he indicated he watched.

Harris' supporters say pattern amounts to a deliberate effort by Trump and his allies to portray Harris — daughter of immigrants — as someone who does t belong at top ranks of politics. mispronunciations follow a string of attacks that include racist and sexist memes and questioning about wher Harris, who was born in California, is eligible to serve as vice president because her mor was Indian and her far Jamaican. (Constitutional scholars and or legal experts say re is question that she is eligible .)

“It is an effort to diminish her,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president of National Women’s Law Center Action Fund. ”It’s designed to signal difference.”

Trump campaign officials did t immediately respond to questions about errors.

To be sure, Harris isn't only politician who has watched or politicians and voters trip over her name. Former President Barack Obama, whose far was from Kenya, used to crack jokes about being a “skinny kid with a funny name.” Former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, whose far was from Malta, went mostly by “Pete” — though his campaign made posters, chants and T-shirts with pronunciation “Boot-Edge-Edge.”

In introduction to her biography, Harris says her name means “lotus flower.” It’s a symbol of significance in Indian culture, she wrote, ting “a lotus grows underwater, its flower rising above surface while its roots are planted firmly in river bottom.”

When she first ran for U.S. Senate, her campaign produced a video with small children demonstrating proper way to say her first name.

But her defenders say Harris is well past point of introduction — especially with Republican opponents. Harris served as California's attorney general for seven years before being elected to Senate in 2016. Since n, she's made headlines for tough questioning of Trump appointees and raised her profile even more with her bid for 2020 Democratic presidential mination.

And even before she was elected to Senate, Trump knew who she was — he donated to her 2014 campaign for attorney general.

Yet Trump has continued to get her name wrong, as have his allies.

Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani called Harris “Pamela” during an appearance on Fox News. Pence misprounced her names multiple times during a stop last week in Iowa, where he warned a cheering crowd that vember election isn’t about a choice between Republicans and Democrats or conservatives and liberals.

“I think choice in this election is wher America remains America,” he said, going on to misprounce her name moments later.

Pence prounced Harris’ name correctly during an appearance on Fox News on Friday, hours after exchange between Louis-Dreyfus and Yang.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson grew agitated when a guest corrected him last week after he also prounced Kamala incorrectly. “So what?” he said, before misprouncing her name again and complaining about liberals being too sensitive.

McDaniel also got pronunciation wrong earlier this week during an appearance on Fox News, even though host questioning McDaniel was saying it correctly.

Many people, particularly people of color, relate to Harris having her name misprounced because y face same situation in workplaces and elsewhere, said Goss Graves. She's grappled herself with people misprouncing her first name — it's fah-TEE'-mah — and wher, or when, to correct m.

But it's a very different thing, she said, to be a candidate for one of highest offices in world and have your colleagues and members of media repeatedly misprounce your name — or t care eugh to get it right.

“When people are running for highest levels of government, re's an expectation y will be afforded with dignity and respect,” she said.