Vice President Kamala Harris raised eyebrows after appearing to shift her accent once again during an address to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Saturday night.
Harris, 59, seemingly briefly altered the tone of voice at the start of her remarks to the glitzy Washington, DC gala, where President Biden, 81, was honored with a lifetime achievement award.
“Hello to all my divine nine brothers and sisters… ” Harris said with a laugh — a reference the the major fraternities and sororities at historically black colleges and universities.
(Harris is herself an alumna, having been a sister at Alpha Kappa Alpha at Howard University.)
She then reverted back to her traditional manner of speaking for most of the duration of the speech at the Phoenix Awards dinner — with a few exceptions during moments when she grew animated.
Critics quickly pounced on Harris over her accent switch. Detractors have accused Harris of pandering by shifting her accent when speaking with different constituencies — especially at events with a mostly black audience.
“Kamala Harris brings out her new accent at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 2024 Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington D.C.,” Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg wrote on X.
“Kamala has brought out this new accent throughout the campaign at different times.”
“Kamala speaking in her fake accent says ‘hello to all my divine 9 brothas and sistas’ followed by a loud cackle,” the Trump campaign War Room wrote.
“Kamala Harris is speaking in front of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation so of course she’s suddenly developed a mysterious accent…” conservative pundit Benny Johnson posted on X.
“Last night, Kamala Harris revealed a new accent at the Black Caucus Dinner. Despite a childhood in Berkley, California and Montreal, Canada, Kamala uses what she thinks is a Detroit accent, a southern accent, a French accent, and more…” conservative influencer Steve Guest wrote on X with a montage of Harris’ varying affectations.
“Kamala Harris is whatever you want her to be, depending on which audience she is talking to. She never makes a lot of sense, but I give her credit for being able to change her accent for so many audiences!” a user named George wrote on X.
Earlier this month, netizens accused Harris of using a “fake accent” while speaking to members of a teacher union in Michigan.
In July Harris appeared to speak with a Southern drawl during a rally in Atlanta. In 2021, she seemingly mimicked a French accent.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bristled at a question earlier this month about Harris’ purported accent.
“I’m not even going to entertain some question about… it’s just, hearing it sounds so ridiculous,” Jean-Pierre shot back when asked by a Fox News reporter.