Kamala Harris slammed for deploying a ‘fake accent’ in Detroit speech

Vice President Kamala Harris was accused Monday of using a “fake accent” in her remarks to teachers union members in Michigan. 

Harris, speaking at a Detroit high school, appeared to alter her tone of voice in moments where she became particularly animated and when interacting with supporters in the crowd. 

“You may not be a union member but you better thank a union member for the five day work week.  You better thank a union member for sick leave. You better thank a union member for paid leave. You better thank a union member for vacation time” Harris said at one point in her remarks that several social media users shared on X. 

Kamala Harris, 59, was born and raised in the Bay Area and does not usually speak in a Southern accent. REUTERS

The Trump campaign noted that Harris delivered a very similar line hours later, during a speech to union workers in Pittsburgh, in which the apparent accent wasn’t present. 

“Let’s see if you can spot the difference…” read a post on the Trump campaign’s X account, which included video clips from both speeches. 

In another viral moment, Harris, after being interrupted by a supporter, responded, “Let’s just get through the next sixty-four days. How about that?” and followed up with a fist-bump motion. 

“This is SO CRINGE!” comedian and podcast host Chad Prather wrote on X, sharing a clip of Harris’ Detroit speech.

“Kamala Harris has again brought out her FAKE accent…this time in Detroit, Michigan!” he observed. “NO ONE IS BUYING IT!”

Matt Whitlock, a Republican communications strategist, argued that “all of politics is a performance to Kamala Harris,” likening her apparent accent switch to her policy flip-flops. 

“She changes fake accents like she changes policy positions and political personas,” Whitlock wrote on X. “Today she’s talking in a fake southern accent, pretending to be a moderate. Next week she’ll be back to San Francisco liberal.” 

Several social media users charged that Harris was using a “fake accent” during a Detroit campaign rally on Monday. REUTERS

Comedian Terrence K. Williams charged that Harris was “pretending to be black southern woman” by “using a fake accent.” 

“She is mocking southern folks and pandering for votes,” he argued.

The vice president was born in Oakland, Calif., and raised in the Bay Area before attending Howard University in Washington, DC., and the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. 

Harris does not have any apparent southern roots, as her father is from Jamaica and her mother was born in India.

Harris has previously faced accusations of putting on an accent to pander to certain crowds. 

In July, social media erupted when Harris appeared to speak with a Southern drawl during a rally in Atlanta

She was also mocked online back in 2021, when during a trip to Paris she appeared to mimic the French accent.