Jake Harper
Former U.S. Senator and current U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue has no affiliation with Perdue Chicken, despite the similarity in names. The chicken company was founded by Arthur Perdue in 1920 and has since been passed down through the family, with Jim Perdue currently at the helm. Although Senator Perdue is the cousin of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, he is not related to the Perdue family that owns the chicken company. The misconception that there was a connection between the senator and the company gained traction on social media in 2020, when Senator Perdue mispronounced the name of Kamala Harris, his Democratic vice-presidential opponent, leading some to call for a boycott of the chicken brand.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| David Perdue's profession | Politician, diplomat, businessman, and former CEO of Dollar General |
| Perdue Chicken's founder | Arthur Perdue |
| Perdue Chicken's current owner | Jim Perdue |
| David Perdue's relation to Perdue Chicken | None |
| David Perdue's relation to Sonny Perdue | Cousin |
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What You'll Learn
David Perdue is not affiliated with Perdue Chicken
David Perdue, the former US Senator for Georgia, is not affiliated with Perdue Chicken. The senator, a Republican, was subject to criticism in October 2020 for mocking Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, by mispronouncing her name at a rally. This led to accusations of racism, and calls on social media to boycott Perdue Chicken, which some believed was connected to the senator.
However, Perdue Farms, the company behind the chicken brand, was quick to dispel this notion, tweeting: "We are in no way connected to David Perdue." The company also clarified that it was not connected to the senator in responses to Twitter users who did not explicitly link the two. The Perdue Chicken company was founded by Arthur Perdue in 1920 and has since been handed down through the family. The current head of the company is Jim Perdue, the grandson of the founder.
David Perdue, meanwhile, was born in Macon, Georgia, to David Alfred Perdue Sr. and Gervaise Wynn, both schoolteachers. He graduated from Northside High School in 1968, where he was an excellent student, a varsity athlete, and class president. He went on to join the United States Air Force Academy but dropped out after a year due to low grades. After a career in business, he entered politics and was elected senator for Georgia in 2014. He lost his seat in 2021 to Jon Ossoff. In 2022, he ran for governor of Georgia, but was defeated by incumbent Brian Kemp. He is currently the US ambassador to China.
Although Sen. Perdue is the cousin of former US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, he has no relation to the Perdues who founded and ran Perdue Chicken.
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David Perdue is a Republican politician
Perdue began his career in the business sector, working for various companies, including Reebok, Sara Lee, Haggar, and PillowTex. He later became the CEO of Dollar General. In 2014, Perdue entered politics and successfully ran for the U.S. Senate, representing Georgia as a member of the Republican Party. He served as a senator from 2015 to 2021 but lost his reelection bid in 2020 to Democrat Jon Ossoff. During his time in the Senate, Perdue faced criticism for his comments about Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, which some deemed as racist.
Following his Senate career, Perdue remained active in politics and sought the Republican nomination for governor of Georgia in 2022. He was endorsed by former President Donald Trump but ultimately lost the primary election to incumbent Brian Kemp. In December 2024, President-Elect Donald Trump nominated Perdue as the United States ambassador to China, and he was confirmed by the Senate in April 2025.
Despite the similarity in their names, David Perdue has no affiliation with Perdue Chicken, a company founded by Arthur Perdue in 1920. The chicken company has clarified on multiple occasions that they are not connected to the senator, despite some social media users calling for a boycott of the brand due to Perdue's controversial remarks.
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Perdue Chicken is a $6 billion company
Perdue Chicken, a $6 billion company, is headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland. Arthur Perdue founded the company in 1920, and it has since been passed down through the family. Today, it is one of the largest chicken product producers in the United States. The company's success is partly due to Frank Perdue, who took over his father's egg business and transformed it into a fully integrated chicken company. Frank became the face of the brand in the 1970s, starring in TV ads with the slogan, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken." By the 1980s, Perdue Chicken had become one of the largest poultry producers in the nation, and Frank first appeared on the Forbes 400 list in 1986 with a $200 million fortune. He retired in 1988, passing the business to his son, Jim Perdue, who currently runs the company.
Despite the company's association with the name "Perdue," it is not affiliated with David Perdue, the former senator from Georgia. In 2020, social media users called for a boycott of Perdue Chicken, believing it was connected to the senator after he repeatedly mispronounced the name of Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris during a rally. In response, the company clarified that David Perdue has no affiliation with their brand, and they are in no way connected to him.
David Perdue is a member of the Republican Party and has served in various political and business roles. He was a management consultant for 12 years before becoming the senior vice president and then CEO of Reebok. He then held CEO positions at several other companies, including PillowTex, a North Carolina textile company, and Dollar General. David Perdue also served as a United States senator for Georgia from 2015 to 2021 and ran for reelection in 2020 but lost to Democrat Jon Ossoff. He is currently the United States ambassador to China, a position he has held since 2025.
While there is no direct connection between David Perdue and Perdue Chicken, it is worth noting that David Perdue is the cousin of Sonny Perdue, the former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture during the Trump administration. However, Sonny Perdue is also not related to the Perdue family that founded and runs the chicken company.
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David Perdue mocked Kamala Harris
David Perdue, a former US senator for Georgia and current US ambassador to China, mocked Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, by mispronouncing her first name at a campaign rally in Macon, Georgia, in October 2020. Perdue referred to Harris as "Kamala? Kamala? Kamala-mala-mala? I don't know, whatever".
The incident took place at a rally for President Donald Trump, where Perdue was speaking to a crowd of Trump supporters. Perdue and Harris had served together in the Senate since 2017. Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, was the first woman of colour nominated to a major political party ticket.
Perdue's mockery of Harris's name was immediately criticised as racist and an appeal to a largely white audience. A spokesperson for Perdue said that the senator "simply mispronounced" Harris's name and "didn't mean anything by it". However, this explanation was widely disbelieved, with commentators pointing out that Perdue had served with Harris in the Senate for several years and knew how to pronounce her name.
The incident sparked a backlash on social media, with Twitter users baselessly accusing Perdue Chicken, a company headquartered in Maryland, of being associated with the senator. Perdue Chicken quickly responded to the accusations, tweeting dozens of times that it was in no way connected to David Perdue. Despite the company's efforts, some Twitter users continued to call for a boycott of the brand.
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David Perdue's comments were labelled incredibly racist
In October 2020, David Perdue, a Republican senator from Georgia, mocked Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, by repeatedly mispronouncing her name during a campaign event for President Donald Trump. Perdue referred to Harris as "Kah-mah-la or Kah-ma-la or Kamamboamamla". This incident sparked backlash and accusations of racism.
Sabrina Singh, Harris' press secretary, called Perdue's conduct "incredibly racist" in a tweet responding to the comment. She urged people to "vote him out" and "vote for Ossoff". Singh was not alone in her condemnation, as Stacey Abrams, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives and a prominent civil rights activist, also weighed in, stating that Perdue was employing ""racist tropes" against Harris. Cori Bush, a Congressional candidate from Missouri, added that Perdue's attack was "the tip of the iceberg of running for office as a Black woman".
Despite the backlash, Perdue and his campaign staff denied any intentional disrespect or racial motivation. Perdue himself stated that he "meant no disrespect" and that his role was to "point out the differences in [their] agendas". John Burke, Perdue's communications director, defended him by saying, "Senator Perdue simply mispronounced Senator Harris' name, and he didn't mean anything by it." However, many commentators were unconvinced by this explanation, noting that Perdue had served in the Senate with Harris for several years and should have known the correct pronunciation.
The incident also led to a boycott of Perdue Chicken on social media, as people mistakenly believed the company was connected to the senator. The chicken company quickly responded to the call for a boycott, clarifying that David Perdue has no affiliation with their brand. They sent out dozens of tweets to dispel the misconception and distance themselves from the senator.
David Perdue has a history of controversial statements and actions. He was linked to the 2020 congressional insider trading scandal for allegations of STOCK Act violations and falsely claimed that his 2020 Senate election was "stolen". Despite these controversies, Perdue received endorsements from prominent corporations, including Google, Coca-Cola, Amazon, and Facebook, for his reelection campaign.
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Frequently asked questions
No, David Perdue is not related to the Perdue family that founded Perdue Chicken.
People assumed a connection between the two because they share the same last name.
David Perdue mocked Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris by mispronouncing her name during a campaign event.
Perdue Chicken responded to the backlash by clarifying on social media that David Perdue is not affiliated with the company.
