President Trump pushed his line of attack on Senator Elizabeth Warren’s heritage even further in a tweet on Sunday night, in what appears to be his most pointed — and cringe-worthy — hit at the Massachusetts Democrat since she formally announced she is exploring a run for president in 2020.
In the tweet sent shortly after 9 p.m., Trump posted a clip from a live Instagram video that Warren shared on New Year’s Eve after making the announcement, in which she showed viewers her Cambridge kitchen, introduced her husband, and sipped a beer. The video has been criticized by some on social media.
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“If Elizabeth Warren, often referred to by me as Pocahontas did this commercial from Bighorn or Wounded Knee instead of her kitchen, with her husband dressed in full Indian garb, it would have been a smash!” Trump tweeted.
(Trump deleted the tweet nearly 45 minutes later — but then reposted a new one in which a comma was added after “Pocahontas.”)
If Elizabeth Warren, often referred to by me as Pocahontas, did this commercial from Bighorn or Wounded Knee instead of her kitchen, with her husband dressed in full Indian garb, it would have been a smash! pic.twitter.com/D5KWr8EPan
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2019
Best line in the Elizabeth Warren beer catastrophe is, to her husband, “Thank you for being here. I’m glad you’re here” It’s their house, he’s supposed to be there!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2019
Warren’s office could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday night.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Warren over her claims of Native American heritage and has publicly nicknamed her “Pocahontas.” He even joked in July that he would donate $1 million to a charity of Warren’s choice if she took a DNA test and it proved that she has Native American roots. (She released such a DNA test in October — but Trump immediately denied that he ever made the offer.)
After Trump posted the tweets, several people posted their outrage on Twitter.
This is grotesque https://t.co/LdEp1PlBmC
— Jim Merrill (@JimMerrillNH) January 14, 2019
If anyone else made this post on Twitter they’d be suspends for racism. When Donald makes it he receives cheers from 35% of America
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 14, 2019
Trump is a racist who uses bigoted language and slurs that deeply hurt Native Americans. Wounded Knee? Bighorn? Pocahontas? This is a complete disgrace to the White House and the presidency.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) January 14, 2019
Distraction from Russia news. Carry on, folks.
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) January 14, 2019
Earlier this month, Trump posted a parody image of a Warren campaign logo mocking the results of her DNA test.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2019
As for the Instagram video itself, Warren staunchly defended posting it two days later, when reporters asked her about it as she made an appearance on Beacon Hill.
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“It’s one more way to be able just to invite people into your home,” she said, adding that it’s a “chance just to kind of talk about what’s going on.”
“What matters to me,” she continued, “is that everything in this campaign is about the people who are out there every single day — work hard, play by the rules — and just want a government that’s on their side.”
One reporter also asked what kind of beer she was drinking, and Warren’s response was light-hearted.
“I drink Michelob Ultra — the club soda of beers,” she joked.
James Pindell of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
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