Trump blasts Warren as ‘phony’ over DNA test
President Trump on Tuesday slammed Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) claims of Native American heritage as a “scam and a lie” one day after the senator revealed she had a distant Native American ancestor.
{mosads}Trump, in a series of tweets, said Warren took a “bogus” test to prove her heritage while calling the Massachusetts senator a “phony” and continuing to label her with the racially charged nickname “Pocahontas.”
“Pocahontas (the bad version), sometimes referred to as Elizabeth Warren, is getting slammed. She took a bogus DNA test and it showed that she may be 1/1024, far less than the average American. Now Cherokee Nation denies her, ‘DNA test is useless.’ Even they don’t want her. Phony!” Trump tweeted.
He also called on Warren to apologize “for perpetrating this fraud against the American Public.” He claimed, without evidence, that Harvard “would not have taken her” had she not identified as part of a minority group.
The president then seized on a critical statement from the Cherokee Nation, which called Warren’s use of a DNA test “inappropriate” and accused the senator of “undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage.”
Trump praised the Cherokee Nation for its statement.
Tuesday’s tweets came after Trump initially brushed off Warren’s DNA test.
“Who cares,” Trump said to reporters hours after the test results were released. He went on to deny that he offered the senator $1 million for a charity of her choice if she took such a test, even though he did so during a July campaign rally. He later reversed course, saying he would make the donation only “if I can test her personally.”
Warren on Monday released the results of a DNA test showing she has a distant Native American ancestor. She unveiled the results in a video that featured remarks from her family members in Oklahoma, as well as past employers.
She provided the results to a renowned genealogist, who determined that the results “strongly support” Warren had a Native American ancestor, likely six to 10 generations ago.
The Boston Globe reported that the results of the test mean it’s possible Warren is anywhere from 1/32nd to 1/1,024th Native American.
Warren, considered a potential 2020 presidential contender, has faced a number of attacks from Trump and others in the Republican Party over her claims of Native American heritage.
While some praised Warren’s decision to protect herself from further attacks by releasing the DNA test, others were critical of the decision, questioning the timing and whether it would end attacks about her heritage.
Trump has repeatedly deployed the racially charged nickname “Pocahontas,” and insisted that she identified as Native American to gain professional advantages, though Warren’s past employers have denied that is the case.
Updated at 8:54 a.m.