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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed a Fox News reporter's question about Vice President Kamala Harris' speaking voice as "insane."
During Tuesday's (September 3) press briefing, Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy suggested Harris recently adopted a "Southern accent" at a campaign rally.
“Since when does the vice president have what sounds like a Southern accent?” Doocy asked Jean-Pierre, who responded, “I have no idea what you are talking about."
“She was talking about unions in Detroit using one tone of voice,” Doocy continued. “She used the same line in Pittsburgh and it sounded like she at least had some kind of a Southern drawl.”
Doocy's question came after former President Donald Trump's campaign seemingly tried to call out Harris for using a different tone of voice at rallies in Detroit and Pittsburgh. The campaign's X account shared side-by-side clips from the rallies, saying "Let's see if you can spot the difference."
“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 told union workers at a Detroit high school.
“Thank unions for sick leave, thank unions for paid family leave, thank unions for your vacation time,” Harris said at the Pittsburgh rally.
As GOP criticism mounted over Harris' change of tone, many social media users defended Harris, noting how Black people sometimes have to code-switch depending on their environment.
"This week is too short to explain code-switching to white people," one X user tweeted.
“Many of us subtly, reflexively change the way we express ourselves all the time,” NPR’s Gene Demby said. “We’re hop-scotching between different cultural and linguistic spaces and different parts of our own identities—sometimes within a single interaction.”
Jean-Pierre slammed Doocy for asking the question about Harris' "accent" during Tuesday's press briefing.
“Do you think Americans seriously think that this is an important question?” the press secretary asked Doocy. “I’m not even going to entertain some question about… it’s just, hearing it sounds so ridiculous.”
“The question is just insane,” she added.
Doocy doubled down on his question, asking Jean-Pierre, “Is that how she talks in meetings here?” Jean-Pierre dismissed his continued response and called on another reporter.
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