Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina entered apparently flirtatious text messages into the congressional record during a hearing Thursday, claiming they were sent by CNN panelist Michael Eric Dyson, who publicly criticized her on his show.
During an Aug. 15 segment on “CNN Newsnight with Abby Phillips,” Dyson, a professor at Vanderbilt University, blasted the congressman for his pronunciation of Vice President Kamala Harris' first name. Mace criticized Democrats for being outraged that he mispronounced Vice President Kamala Harris' first name during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Thursday, citing party officials who reportedly mispronounced the president's name.
“A colleague of mine said it was an elementary school kid who couldn't pronounce Kamala's name correctly. I'd like to put on record the Newsweek article about Bill Clinton mispronouncing Kamala Harris' name. [his] “It's a speech at the Democratic National Convention,” Mace said.
“Let's not forget Bill Clinton, Al Sharpton, rapper Lil Jon and Joe Biden can't pronounce her name correctly. And neither can Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor,” Mace continued. “And this morning on Morning Joe, Joan Baez called her a camel. So I don't want to hear it. This is false indignation.”
The congresswoman then held up screenshots of text messages allegedly sent by Dyson, saying he called her “gorgeous” after she allegedly imitated white supremacist slang. (Related: 'It just came out of the polls': David Axelrod says Kamala Harris needs to avoid 'roundabout' answers on economy)
clock:
“I also want to include for record a screenshot of a text message I received from Vanderbilt University Professor Michael Eric Dyson after the CNN interview, where he asked me to take a photo with him. In the text message, after calling me a racist on CNN, he wrote, 'Shhh, don't tell anyone, we look great together,' and also sent a kissing emoji,” Mace said.
“In all of these pictures, he says I'm beautiful. I don't think he's too hung up on how Kamala sounds,” Mace said. “If you're going to apply that standard, it has to apply to both, not just one or the other.”
😘 pic.twitter.com/UPtmu3B5NR
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) September 19, 2024
Speaking on CNN on August 15, Dyson said Mace had been disrespectful to Harris by “telling her that she could call him whatever she wanted,” and argued that his actions were linked to “the history and legacy of white people devaluing the humanity of black people.”
In March, Mace clashed with ABC's George Stephanopoulos during a tense exchange over his political choices as a rape victim, claiming he had been “humiliated”.
Mace's office and CNN did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news service, is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
