A DNA test, provided by Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren to the Boston Globe, proves she has a little Native American blood due to an ancestor some 6-10 generations ago.
Warren has long been ridiculed by President Trump for claiming Native American ancestry, with Trump dubbing her “Pocahontas” and accusing her of claiming minority status to get hired as a lawyer after graduating from Rutgers Law School. Now, a DNA test proves that there may be a grain of truth to Warren’s claim.
While the report found that the vast majority of Warren’s ancestry is European, the test strongly suggests that at one point in time, likely 6-10 generations ago, there is “strong evidence” that one Native American ancestor may have joined her pedigree. Still, 6-10 generations is a long time ago, and means that Warren is at most between 1/32 and 1/1,024 Native American.
As well as releasing the results to the Boston Globe, Warren also released a video on her family’s history, and published fact-checking information on her website about her heritage. In the video, test conductor and Stanford University professor Dr. Carlos Bustamante tells Warren “the facts suggest that you absolutely have Native American ancestry in your pedigree.”
Warren has received stick from Trump and others on the right for her claim to Native American ancestry, with trolls calling her “Chief Spreading Bull.” With Warren hotly tipped to make a run for the presidency in 2020, Trump said in July that he would pay the Democratic senator $1 million to take a DNA test and prove her heritage.
“But let’s say I’m debating Pocahontas, I’ll do this,” he said at a campaign-style rally in Montana. “I promise you I’ll do this, you know those little kits they sell on television for $2? Learn your heritage… and we will say, ‘I will give you a million dollars, paid for by Trump, to your favorite charity if you take the test and it shows you’re an Indian.”
Monday’s disclosure by Warren could be a way of disarming one of Trump’s favorite arguments, should she decide to mount a presidential bid. In a tweet on Monday, Warren said that she “never expected my family’s story to be used as a racist political joke, but I don’t take any fight lying down.”
Touting a progressive platform of single-payer Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, and strict gun control, Warren said earlier this month that she will strongly consider taking on Trump in 2020, after the midterm elections are done.
Speaking to reporters on Monday morning, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway dismissed the results.
“I know that everybody likes to pick their junk science or sound science depending on the conclusion,” Conway said, adding: “I haven’t looked at the test. I’m not a forensic scientist.”
Trump was more succinct. "Who cares?" he told reporters on Monday, adding that he thinks Warren would be "very easy" to beat in an election.
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