Chicago: On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris’s grandnieces took the stage to offer a tutorial on how to pronounce her name. Actress Kerry Washington introduced the girls, noting that some people struggle or pretend to struggle to pronounce the future vice president’s name.
“I’ve noticed that there are people who are having a hard time, or pretending to have a hard time, pronouncing our future president’s name correctly. The confusion is understandable, the disrespect is not. So tonight we’re going to help everyone get it right,” the actor said before the two children walked into a cheering crowd. This moment preceded Kamala Harris’s historic speech, where the crowd cheered as the children began their tutorial.
Out came eight-year-old Amara in a pink pantsuit and six-year-old Leela in a light blue ruffled dress, daughters of Meena Harris, Kamala Harris’s niece.
“First you say ‘comma’ like a comma in a sentence,” Amara said.
“So you say ‘la’ like la-la-la-la-la,” Leela added.
“Okay, let’s practice,” Washington said.
Amara pointed to the left of the stage and said, “Everyone here say comma!”
Leela turned to the right of the stage and said, “Everyone here say la!”
The United Center roared back: “Comma! La!”
Some Democratic National Convention speakers have mispronounced Harris’ first name, including former President Bill Clinton, who pronounced it “CAM-UH-LA” in his speech Wednesday night.
Others played it safe. When Leon Panetta spoke, one journalist noticed the teleprompter saying “comma-la.”
Republican candidate Donald Trump He took the opportunity to mangle the pronunciation, which Democrats describe as a sign of disrespect.
She often says “Kah-MAH-la.” Asked why, Trump said last month that he had heard Harris’s first name said “seven different ways.”
“I told them, ‘Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter what I say,’” Trump said. “I don’t care one bit.”
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