Trump thinks mispronouncing Kamala Harris’ name is a good attack route.

  • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    158
    ·
    3 months ago

    Yea so… making fun of someone’s name is sophomoric. I’m sure some Trump folks love it but actual adults really don’t give a shit. I was even kind of annoyed years back when people were attacking Trump because of the Drumpf surname - as if half of America didn’t have their name butchered by Ellis Island.

    The asshole doesn’t have any actual criticisms that will stick so he’s resorting to school yard bullying.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      82
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      3 months ago

      Not just sophomoric, as the article points out. Plain old bigoted.

      “It’s one thing to mispronounce someone’s name on the first try, right? But to do it repeatedly and deliberately, it feels purposeful. It’s certainly done to make a point. It is othering, a way of saying you don’t belong here,” said Jean Sinzdak, the associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

      “I would describe it as a racist and sexist attack on her because she’s been the vice president for three and a half years,” Sinzdak said. “It’s not hard to say her name. It’s not complicated.”

      • finley@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        52
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        It’s a lot simpler than that for psychopaths like Trump: it’s a simple cut that’s dehumanizing. It’s an easy way to say, “You mean nothing to me, and I know this hurts you, so I will keep on hurting you as much as possible whenever I can because I can, and that gratifies me.”

        It’s one of the most effective trolling behaviors there is, because, no matter how big a person you are, it will always cut a little. And it is also one of the most obvious signs that someone is a psychopath. Because they hurt someone just because they can.

        You see it all the time from trolls on the Internet.

        • zigmus64@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          10
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          3 months ago

          I have a very common American name, but with a very European spelling. I’m 41 fucking years old. It gets under my skin at least a little bit when I see it misspelled, regardless of how understandable it is…

    • kautau@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      3 months ago

      actual adults don’t really give a shit

      From my experience most of Trump’s camp act like middle schoolers, so you’d be right

    • MisterFrog@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      3 months ago

      Yeah, also, I know Germany is like the one “okay” group to rag on in the US because of historical reasons, but like, what’s wrong with having a German last name?

      It’s not like you get to choose your ancestry.

      You do, however, get to choose whether you try to be a dictator.

  • Mk23simp@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    117
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    3 months ago

    This is just a dog-whistle for racism, right? Barely even a dog-whistle. Making fun of a name because it’s not european is pretty blatantly racist.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      54
      ·
      3 months ago

      That’s exactly what it is. It’s saying, “white men like me know how to really pronounce your name and you don’t.”

      • ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        19
        ·
        3 months ago

        I’ll admit to mispronouncing her name on occasion myself, but mostly because I associate it with two other figures who did/do pronounce it Ka-MAH-luh. I have to make an effort to get it right for her. But I am making that effort. And I have little doubt that these assholes are not.

        I’m kind of afraid that I’ll mispronounce it in mixed company and make someone who doesn’t know me well think I’m one of those weird Republicans or something.

        • leadore@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          9
          ·
          3 months ago

          I actually said it wrong in that way the other day even though I usually get it right without having to think about it too much. It happens. Once we start hearing it all the time it’ll be easy, but in the meantime it may help to think of it as being “Kamla” which comes out sounding just the same.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          8
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          3 months ago

          I have a friend I’ve had since high school with that name and with that spelling who pronounced it a different way (closer to ‘camera’), so I go there for a second sometimes without realizing it, but correct myself quickly enough.

    • whereisk@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      3 months ago

      You’re right of course it’s racism, he knows his audience. But his schoolyard bully tactics always make fun of the unfamiliar, perhaps you mean Anglo sounding?

      Because I’m pretty sure he would make fun of his own family name (Drumpf) if it belonged to an opponent. And I can’t imagine it would be any better if they were named Nieminen (Finish) or Svobodova (Czech) or Nikolakopoulos (Greek) etc. Same with first names.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        3 months ago

        I guess “Hillary Clinton” and “Joe Biden” are hard to mispronounce without making it sound even more obvious than he likes to be, so he took the opportunity.

    • Subverb@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      3 months ago

      When Obama was running the right made a big point out of calling him Barack Hussein Obama.

  • Protoknuckles@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    80
    ·
    3 months ago

    I want her to treat this as if he is doing it on accident, and correct him like he is a little child. Really humiliate him.

    • Tower@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      65
      ·
      3 months ago

      Yup. Then, when he’s still mispronouncing it, pivot to him not being able to remember how to pronounce it correctly being another sign of his mental faculties failing.

      • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        13
        ·
        3 months ago

        We bullied a boomer who kept doing that at work.

        Old fart kept mispronouncing staff member’s names thinking it was funny and workplace suddenly went passive aggressive on him.

  • WatDabney@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    39
    ·
    3 months ago

    All the way through this ordeal of Biden possibly, then actually, stepping down, I’ve been sort of lukewarm about the idea of Harris replacing him for one and only one reason - because I assumed that, since she’s the VP and the obvious first choice for a replacement, the Trump campaign would already have a complete hate campaign against her primed and ready to go, so could potentially catch her and the Dems flat-footed.

    It’s astonishing how wrong I was.

    • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      23
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      Honestly, I think it’s because they underestimate black people and women. They would never have thought democrats would run a black woman, because they wouldn’t.

      And it’s not like Sleepy Joe was a brilliant name either, it just stuck for the flag buying morons.

    • stoly@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      3 months ago

      They have been making it up as they go since 2015. There’s no real plan other than win.

    • Brown5500@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      3 months ago

      Trump is such a narcissist that he cant actually comprehend someone not being selfish. Biden dropping out caught him completely off guard. It never occurred to him that a person would actually do that

  • magnetosphere@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    29
    ·
    3 months ago

    All he’s doing is showing everyone how petty, spiteful, and bigoted he is - which is unintentionally honest of him.

  • dragontamer@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    27
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    I’m so fucking confused. Trump usually has good insults that actually stick. But literally nothing is sticking. All of Trump’s insults vs Kamala though are so lame.

    I’m pretty happy about this though. Trump workshopping insults and shot gunning his incompetence and inability to actually pull Kamala down is great for everyone.

    “Lying Ted Cruz” worked fine. Except “Lying Kamala” is obviously just recycling an old insult and speaks more to Trump’s limited vocabulary rather than something good. Etc. etc. etc. I’m sure Trump will eventually find something and run with it, but… crazy to see him fail at workshopping a response when he’s literally had years to prepare an obvious insult for Kamala.


    Making fun of name pronunciation makes it sound like Trump is a 78 year old who can’t learn how to say a name. This is NOT the path Trump wants to go. Kamala isn’t even an exotic or difficult to say name.

    • ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      25
      ·
      3 months ago

      I’m honestly surprised he has so little. I mean, not to give that piece of shit ideas, but “Commie Kamala” is right there. Even “Crooked Kamala” would work better than what he’s tried.

      I saw a clip of him where he called her “Laffin’ Kamala” and then stopped to specify that he was spelling it L-A-F-F-I-N-apostrophe. It’s hard to remember last time I felt so much cringe.

      • dragontamer@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        17
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        As much as everyone was making fun of Bidens loss of function (which… Biden always tripped up over words. He always was a bad speaker)… Trumps wit has visibly declined over the recent years.

        It’s possible that Trump just can’t come up with a reasonable insult due to his advanced age. IMO, Trumps signs of aging are worse than even Bidens.


        Crooked was Hilary Clintons nickname. So same problem as Lying: it is proof of Trumps small vocabulary if he recycles an insult.

      • rtxn@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        3 months ago

        Unfortunately the (lack of) cleverness matters little when his zealots/cultists started wearing adult diapers in public because “real men wear diapers” or something.

        • dragontamer@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          3 months ago

          We don’t need to target the zealots.

          All that matters is changing the mind of the 10% or so independents. And secondly, making sure there is enough enthusiasm for the Democrats to actually come out and fucking vote.

  • InternetUser2012@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    22
    ·
    3 months ago

    She should fire back “It’s Kamala Harris, It seems with your age, you’re struggling to remember, it’s OK. Soon you’ll be able to call me President”

  • mad_asshatter@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    21
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    When asked why, the Trump campaign, in a statement to ABC News, said “race and gender have nothing to do with why Kamala Harris is the most unpopular Vice President in history.”

    Citation, motherfuckers?

    • Wilzax@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      3 months ago

      You kind of need to start assuming that anything coming out of his mouth is a lie. They are right less than 50% of the time.

  • InternetUser2012@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    20
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    He’s not doing it on purpose, it’s the dementia. He’s too old, he needs to step down, it’s just embarrassing.

    Edit: /s for the bots that don’t get it

  • doodledup@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    18
    ·
    3 months ago

    Am I the only one that thinks Kamala is a beautiful name? It’s also not a name you hear every day.

  • peopleproblems@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    ·
    3 months ago

    I don’t get it. I mean shit, probably I pronounce it wrong, but then so does every other Minnesotan.

    Why are they trying to be dumber than they are? That makes it like less weaponized stupidity and more… The stupidity that gets you in detention?

      • Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        3 months ago

        I guess I’ve also been saying it wrong, having read it much more than I’ve heard it. I honestly haven’t been paying much attention.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      3 months ago

      But, unlike you, Trump has heard it many times. He knows how to pronounce it properly, he just won’t because he’s a racist.

    • NoSpotOfGround@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      3 months ago

      Her name is a nod to her Indian heritage on her mother’s side and in her 2019 memoir, Harris wrote that she pronounced it “Comma-la” and that it means “lotus flower.” […] Still, Trump continues to say “Kah-MAH-la.”

      I was sure this was going to be the other way around. Strange and less bad than I expected. It’s mostly just an accent thing, not a change in sounds.

  • mightyfoolish@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    3 months ago

    Some people are suggesting Harris starts name calling in her campaign. I really think if she wants to slam him in a campaign, just list the issues Trump never wants to talk about. Even some conservative states were fighting for abortion. Stop making these elections a joke and the people will come.

    Fight back by compromising less, not name calling.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      3 months ago

      I hope so too… unfortunately they probably get all their advice from people who ran the last couple complains. Plus, technically super PAC can’t have input from the politician I think.