Sen. David Perdue Takes Racist Jab At Kamala Harris's Name

Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia resorted to cheap, racist jokes about Sen. Kamala Harris s name while warming up the crowd at President Donald Trump s campaign rally Friday evening.

Ka-MA-la, KA-ma-la, Kamala-mala-mala. I dont know, whatever, Perdue, whos in a tight race for his Senate seat, said in Macon, Georgia, according to several reporters at the rally.

The campaign for Perdues opponent, Democrat Jon Ossoff, tweeted out a video of the moment.

David Perdue is just gross.

He mispronounced @KamalaHarris' name just now warming up the stage for @realDonaldTrump to score race-baiting, cheap political cheers. pic.twitter.com/kiLmn8682A

Miryam Lipper (@MiryamLipper) October 16, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Miryam Lipper","author_url":"https://twitter.com/MiryamLipper","cache_age":86400,"description":"David Perdue is just gross. 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David Perdue is just gross.

He mispronounced @KamalaHarris ' name just now warming up the stage for @realDonaldTrump to score race-baiting, cheap political cheers. pic.twitter.com/kiLmn8682A
Miryam Lipper (@MiryamLipper) October 16, 2020

As the California senator wrote in her 2019 memoir, her name is pronounced comma-la, like the punctuation mark. It means lotus flower, which is a symbol of significance in Indian culture. A lotus grows underwater, its flower rising above the surface while its roots are planted firmly in the river bottom.

Perdue, whos been Harriss colleague in the Senate for years, might benefit from listening to these children explain how to pronounce her name, which they did in a video for her 2016 Senate run.

People pronounce my name many different ways. Let #KidsForKamala show you how its done. pic.twitter.com/7QoQGN0B4k

Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 24, 2016","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Kamala Harris","author_url":"https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris","cache_age":86400,"description":"People pronounce my name many different ways. 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People pronounce my name many different ways. Let #KidsForKamala show you how its done. pic.twitter.com/7QoQGN0B4k
Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 24, 2016

Harris, the first Black woman and the first Asian American woman named to a major partys ticket, is the daughter of an Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father. Jokes about her name and even the careless mispronunciation of it are a lazy way to paint her as a political outsider because of her race, her allies say .

Trump has similarly mocked her name.

You know whos further left than Crazy Bernie? Kamala. Kamala. Kamala, he said at a rally last month, mispronouncing her name and stretching out each syllable.

A spokesperson for Perdue told HuffPost that he wasnt making fun of her name. Senator Perdue simply mispronounced Senator Harris name, and he didnt mean anything by it, the spokesperson said.

Democrats didnt buy it.

Senator Perdues intentionally disrespectful mispronunciation of Senator Harriss name is a bigoted and racist tactic straight from President Trumps handbook, Nikema Williams, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party , said in a statement. He owes Georgians an apology for his offensive display.

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Trump and conservative Republicans , as they did with Barack Obama throughout his presidency, pushed racist birther conspiracy theories about Harris just days after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden named her as his running mate. Legal scholars said there is no basis to their claims.

We want to know what youre hearing on the ground from the candidates. If you get any interesting or suspicious! campaign mailers, robocalls or hear anything else you think we should know about, email us at scoops@huffpost.com .