MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry seemed this morning to be unfamiliar with how to pronounce the well-known Marine Corps motto.
During her show, she pronounced it “Semper Fee,” when it is actually pronounced “Semper Fi” (fie), which is short for Semper Fidelis. See embed below. The latest gaffe came in a segment when she was praising the US military:
“… Because, well, if there is anything that is quintessentially American, it is our military, and their goal can be seen in their very mottos: the Army’s ‘this we’ll defend,’ or ‘Semper [Fee].’ always faithful, for the Marines.”
Of the Harris-Perrry mispronunciation, BizPacReview writer Michele Kirk wrote that “We all blunder, and being on camera is a tough job, but as a Marine mom it reminded me of how far removed much of the left is from the importance of the military. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t imagine any conservative doing a segment on the military with such ignorance.”
Harris, a former Princeton University professor, has recently encountered other on-the-air difficulties. After presiding over MSNBC mockery of Mitt Romney’s African-American grandchild, she apologized on Twitter, on the MSNBC website, and in an on-air segment during which she broke down in tears. See embed below.
In response, Mitt Romney said that “I recognize that people make mistakes and the folks at MSNBC made a big mistake. They’ve apologized for it. That’s all can you ask for. I am going to mover on from that. I am sure they want to move on from it. Look, I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself. They’ve apologized for this. You know, I think we can go on from there.”
Harris-Perry, who earned a PhD from Duke, currently teaches political science at Tulane University where she is director of the Anna Julia Cooper project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South. According to NJ.com , she left Princeton when she was denied a full professorship there because of “questions about her work and an assessment of where she is” in her career. Last semester, she also taught a course called “Hip-Hop & Feminism” at Tulane according to her website .
Watch Melissa Harris-Perry mispronounce Semper Fi and also apologize to Mitt Romney and his family: