‘It’s backfiring’: Expert has intriguing explanation for Kamala’s changing accents

An expert is explaining why Kamala Harris often alters her speaking, actually her speech accent, when addressing various groups.

The trait has caught people off-guard for the Democrat candidate already known as Kamala Chameleon for her flip-flopping on a long list of issues as she tries to make herself acceptable to voters this election season.

Her condition, actually, sometimes is called the “chameleon effect,” according to experts cited in a report in the Daily Mail.

She’s used Midwestern accents, French accents, black accents, Spanish accents and more when talking to various affinity groups.

It could because of a “confidence issue,” according to psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, who owns a practice in New York and was interviewed by the publication.

In psychology circles, her condition is known as “mirroring” or “chameleon effect.”

“Using a fake accent could also be a result of feeling self-conscious around a particular group and feeling like she has to make changes to her baseline voice in order to be accepted – to some extent this a natural and normal way to handle people we might perceive as different than ourselves,” he said.

“There’s a possibility she feels like she won’t fit in, so she overcompensates by taking this whole accent thing to the extreme. I think there could be an element of Harris trying to gain acceptance across these different demographics. But again, I think it’s backfiring,” he said.

Reshaping her language has followed on the heels of her radically changing her views on topics from fracking to gun control to police.

“In 2020, at the height of the George Floyd protests, Harris endorsed the ‘defund the police’ movement in an interview with the hosts of the Ebro in the Morning show. This was a stark difference from when she ran for attorney general of California in 2010, her ad production imitated the tense proficiency of a Law and Order episode,” the report explained.

Recently, she’s advocated for President Donald Trump’s border wall, even though she previously called it a “medieval vanity project” and a “waste of taxpayer money.”

Alpert continued, “By altering her accent she might be perceived as inauthentic or manipulative and ultimately could undermine trust if the audience feels she is not genuine. Authenticity is critical in building meaningful connections with the electorate and if people perceive the accent as disingenuous, it could damage Harris’s credibility.”

Nan Wise, a licensed psychotherapist who has appeared on The Today Show, told the publication often such accents are used automatically.

“Human beings are very social animals, and some of this accommodation goes along with the way we’re wired to connect and to unintentionally mimic aspects of our social environments,” she explained.

However, a University of Pennsylvania study from just a few years ago concluded “code-switching” is a “thought-out behavior.”

Alpert said that might not be working for Harris.

“By altering her accent she might be perceived as inauthentic or manipulative and ultimately could undermine trust if the audience feels she is not genuine. Authenticity is critical in building meaningful connections with the electorate and if people perceive the accent as disingenuous, it could damage Harris’ credibility.”

The report said Hillary Clinton did the same thing. But it said experts believe Trump “just speaks his mind and is consistent across the different speeches and audiences.”

Harris has been known to flip-flop as many as four positions in a day, earning herself the “Kamala Chameleon” nickname.

Oh. Only four huge policy reversals by @KamalaHarris in a day. I do like that she doesn’t even bother to try to defend her old views, just tosses them when they’re no longer politically expedient pic.twitter.com/6I5qDzdhml

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) July 29, 2024