The Elizabeth Warren DNA debate
Sen. Elizabeth Warren released DNA test results that she says reveal she has Native American ancestry and told President Trump to pony up the $1 million charitable donation he promised months ago if she could prove her heritage. “She took a bogus DNA test,” Trump replied, according to
Yahoo News.The Cherokee Nation responded that Warren’s DNA test was “inappropriate,” The Guardian reports.
Fox Business said that “the test is a farce,” and
Time. Bloomberg questioned whether her move marked “the death of genetic privacy.
The key players
President Trump
Sen. Warren (D-Mass.)
The background
Warren faced criticism during her 2012 Senate race when she claimed to have Native American ancestry. Trump later cast doubt on her statements by mockingly referring to Warren publicly as “Pocahontas.”
On July 5, Trump challenged Warren to take a DNA test, and he offered to donate $1 million to a charity of her choice, “if you take the test and it shows you’re an Indian.”
Warren released the results of a test that concluded there was “strong evidence” her DNA sample showed a Native American in her family tree “six to 10 generations ago.”
When pressed about the challenge and donation, Trump said “I will only do it if I can test her personally.”
Who said what
By the way, @realDonaldTrump: Remember saying on 7/5 that you’d give $1M to a charity of my choice if my DNA showed Native American ancestry? I remember – and here’s the verdict. Please send the check to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center: https://t.co/I6YQ9hf7Tv pic.twitter.com/J4gBamaeeo
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) October 15, 2018
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2018
Why it matters
Warren may be attempting to settle the controversy before discussions ramp up about potential Democratic challengers to President Trump in 2020.
Read the full fact check source: Yahoo News
