‘Prove you’re an Indian’: Trump makes $1mn DNA test offer to Elizabeth Warren
The internet has gone into meltdown after Donald Trump told a rally he will donate $1 million to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s favorite charity if she will take a DNA test proving her Native American heritage.
In a wide-ranging speech in Montana on Thursday night, Trump appeared to mock the #MeToo movement and again referred to Warren as ‘Pocahontas,’ a reference to the Native American woman known for association with a colonial settlement in Virginia in the 17th century.
READ MORE: Lyin’, Crazy, Wacky, Sloppy: Trump’s nicknames keep on coming
Raising the prospect of a debate against Warren, a leading Democratic critic of Trump who listed herself as Native American earlier in her career based on anecdotal evidence provided by her parents, Trump said he would begin by throwing her a DNA testing kit.
Trump suggests he would like to test Elizabeth Warren for Native American heritage, "but we have to do it gently because we're in the MeToo generation." pic.twitter.com/kgQ54Lxqbo
— Axios (@axios) July 6, 2018
“In the middle of the debate, when she proclaims that she is of Indian heritage because her mother said she has high cheekbones, we will take that little kit – we have to do it gently, because we’re in the #MeToo generation – and we will slowly toss it, hoping it doesn’t hit her and injure her arm,” Trump told the cheering crowd.
“And I will say: ‘I will give you a million dollars to your favorite charity, paid for by Trump, if you take the test that proves you’re an Indian.’”
READ MORE: Trump calls out ‘Pocahontas’ while honoring WWII Navajo code talkers
Trump has come under fire for referring to Warren as Pocahontas in the past. He first debuted the put-down during the 2016 presidential election and repeated it once again in November last year during a White House event to honor Navajo code talkers from World War II. Native American leaders highlighted the president’s attacks as an example of his “deep-rooted ignorance of Native Americans.”
Warren responded to Trump on Twitter. Referencing the number of children still separated from their parents on the US-Mexico border, she said the president should concentrate “on fixing the lives you're destroying.”
Hey, @realDonaldTrump: While you obsess over my genes, your Admin is conducting DNA tests on little kids because you ripped them from their mamas & you are too incompetent to reunite them in time to meet a court order. Maybe you should focus on fixing the lives you're destroying.
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) July 5, 2018
Some commentators felt that Trump’s remarks show his fear of Warren in the 2020 presidential elections, while others echoed Warren’s concern for the separated migrant children.
His comments also underscore his pure, unadulterated fear of Elizabeth Warrenhttps://t.co/AlYV6LlvUv
— jordan (@JordanUhl) July 6, 2018
Trump is terrified of Elizabeth Warren.
— Tim Crowley (@AlohaTimAloha) July 6, 2018
Trump's main asset as a candidate was making people afraid of him. As prez, he seems to have decided it is still the best road to take, to try to instill fear that he will do anything (Warren/DNA test, hitting MeToo movement). The risk for him is further firing up Dems for fall
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 5, 2018
There are 3000 kids separated from their parents by this administration and the President is making bad jokes about @SenWarren’s cheekbones. #WakeUpAmerica
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) July 6, 2018
However numerous commenters also offered their support for the president’s remarks and called on Warren to rise to his challenge.
.@realDonaldTrump just said he would pay $1 Million to Elizabeth Warren’s charity of choice if she took a DNA test to prove she's Native American. 😂Retweet if you want to see this happen! pic.twitter.com/2Y1zyISh4t
— Oliver McGee PhD MBA (@OliverMcGee) July 6, 2018
Let's get #TakeTheTest trending! cc: @SenWarren
— Jack Posobiec🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 6, 2018
What a great victory it would be to throw in the face of President Trump for @elizabethforma to prove her Native American ancestry beyond a shadow of a doubt. Why would she not want to #TakeTheTest and score a big win for civility and ethnic representation in America?
— Jevaughn Brown (@Jevaughn_Brown) July 6, 2018
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