A South Carolina Republican revealed this week that a liberal CNN guest sent her “flirtatious” text messages following a heated panel discussion about Kamala Harris, sparking an online argument between the two.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., appeared on a CNN panel with liberal author and academic Michael Eric Dyson on August 15. Mace riled up Dyson and another guest for mispronouncing Harris’ first name, which Dyson claimed was part of a “history and legacy of white people’s disregard for the humanity of Black people.”
The two repeatedly interrupted, and Mace said Dyson essentially called her a racist. But after the tense segment, Mace received text messages from Dyson that were friendlier than their on-air exchange.
“Psst, don’t tell anyone. We look good together!” Dyson sent pictures of the two, followed by laughing out loud and kissing emojis. After the congresswoman laughed at the message, Dyson complimented Mace on her looks, mentioning her “gorgeousness.”
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Mace had the texts entered into the congressional record on Thursday as part of a discussion in which Democrats were pointed out that they also mispronounced Harris’ first name. Some of the vice president’s supporters have suggested that her opponents intentionally mispronounced her name – it is pronounced COMMA-la, not ka-MAL-ah – and that this is a subtle form of racism.
“Bill Clinton, Al Sharpton and rapper Lil John – let’s not forget that Joe Biden can’t pronounce their names correctly, and neither can Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor,” Mace said Thursday.
“I also want to put on the record a screenshot of a text message I received after my CNN interview from distinguished Vanderbilt professor Michael Eric Dyson, asking me for photos. In that message, after calling me a racist on CNN, he says, ‘Shh, don’t tell anyone, we look good together.’ And he sent me a kiss emoji,” Mace added. “The guy says I’m stunning in all of these photos. I don’t think he cares all that much how someone pronounces Kamala. And if we’re going to have that standard, we have to hold it to both sides, not just one or the other.”
After Mace sent the text messages in a moment that quickly went viral, Dyson hit back, calling Mace a “bigot and a racist.”
“The ridiculous lies Nancy Mace told to smear my name because she’s angry at being controlled by @VP for her callous disregard… I had no intention of anything other than being nice to her,” he wrote on X. “And her white women’s tears and mendacity all serve her lies and distortions. I was wrong about one thing: She IS a bigot and racist.”
Mace responded on her personal X account: “Disregarding a woman’s feelings by attributing them solely to the fact that she is a ‘white woman’ is not only racist, but misogynistic. His comments were (once again) inappropriate. Apologize, take responsibility, and stop blaming the victim. ALL women are sick of this sh*t.”
She also posted on her congressional account: “Second racially motivated breakdown; waiting for the next flirty text message.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Mace elaborated on the strange saga.
“This is the height of left-wing hysteria and hypocrisy,” she said. “As a woman, I am disgusted by his disgusting and irresponsible response – blaming and shaming the victims. It’s like George Stephanopoulos all over again. The real question is: will the management of his network actually step in and hold him accountable?”
CNN noted that Dyson is not employed by the network and declined further comment.
Dyson did not respond to a request for further comment.
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Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report
