While giving remarks before President Donald Trump took to the stage at a campaign rally in Macon, Georgia, incumbent Senator David Perdue mispronounced Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris' name, garnering criticism for him and campaign support for his opponent.
"The most insidious thing that Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden and are trying to perpetrate and Bernie (Sanders) and Elizabeth (Warren) and Kamala...or what KAH-mah-lah? Kah-MAH-lah? Kamala-mala-mala?! I don’t know, whatever," Perdue told the crowd on Friday (October 15).
The Republican Georgia Senator is seeking re-election against Democratic opponent and newcomer, Jon Ossoff, who in the wake of this incident, reportedly raised nearly $2 million for his campaign from over 40,000 donors according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Perdue's deliberate mispronunciation of Sen. Harris' name also got the hashtag #MyNameIs trending on Saturday (October 16) as the Indian-American community and social media users voiced criticism and shared their experiences with unique and ethnic-sounding names.
Senator Harris is no stranger to harsh comments from political opponents, including President Trump. While Senator Perdue denies intentionality behind the mispronunciation of his colleague's name, Senator Harris' press secretary, Sabrina Singh, who identifies as Indian American herself, told India-based newspaper, The Hindu, “I’ll keep it simple: If you can pronounce ‘former’ Senator David Perdue, you can pronounce ‘future’ Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Photo: Getty Images