“Every man has two countries — his own and France.” A variation of this line, frequently misattributed to Thomas Jefferson, came to Cockburn as he saw the latest footage from Kamala Harris’s trip to Paris. Everyone, he realized, has two accents — his own and French.
And so it is with Momala.
On a Tuesday tour of the Pasteur Institute, the vice president opted for a very Fraaanch pronunciation in her conversation with zee scientistes. See for yourself:
Kamala Harris uses a fake French accent while speaking to French scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. pic.twitter.com/yCGPcLVJkN
— America Rising (@AmericaRising) November 10, 2021
Now, Cockburn readily admits that Harris’s Franglais (or should that be Framerican?) is a little more subtle than his own garbled intonation when asking for directions on the Riviera.
But the vice president of the United States should surely be held to a higher standard than a rosy-cheeked Cockburn desperate to find his way back to the auberge for a post-prandial snooze.
The French were already mystified as to what Harris is doing in Paris. The Washington Examiner’s intrepid Katherine Doyle, who spoke to a taxi driver and a restaurant worker for her story on the reaction to the visit, reports that Paris is perplexed.
“It’s politics,” said Mohamed El Hachmi, a driver in the city. Accented ramblings about “ze plan” are unlikely to help.
Cockburn notes that this is not the first time Harris has been accused of donning an inauthentic accent. Raised in California and Canada, the Veep was more than willing to drop a few Rs when she was yucking it up with Southerners on the campaign trail — a characteristically authentic move.
Kamala’s accent fluidity puts her in a fine political tradition. There’s vocal chameleon Hillary Clinton, who can jump from northeastern drone to the bouncy southern lilt faster than you can say “deplorable.”
And then there’s Anthony Weiner. You probably know about his sex pervert alter ego Carlos Danger. But were you aware of his side hustle as a dancehall MC?
Cockburn hopes Kamala finds some reassurance in these historical precedents. After all, things worked out pretty well for Clinton and Weiner, right? Bien sur!
