Trump taunts 'Pocahontas' during Native American event

President Donald Trump mocked Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday at an event honoring Native American veterans, invoking his “Pocahontas” nickname for the Massachusetts Democrat as he talked about how long Native Americans have been in America.

Trump hosted Navajo code talkers, who were recruited into the U.S. Marine Corps to communicate in the Pacific region during World War II, at the White House.


“I just want to thank you because you’re very, very special people,” Trump said to the group. “You were here long before any of us were here — although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas. But you know what? I like you. Because you are special.”

Trump — who spoke in front of a portrait of Andrew Jackson, the former president who signed the Indian Removal Act — did not mention Warren by name. But he frequently mocks her by calling her “Pocahontas,” a nickname he created during his 2016 presidential campaign. The derisive sobriquet pokes fun at Warren’s claim of Native American heritage when she was a law professor, which became a campaign issue during her 2012 Senate run.

Warren, a frequent Trump critic, responded in an interview on MSNBC, noting that the White House event was supposed to “honor heroes.”

“It is deeply unfortunate that the president of the United States cannot even make it through a ceremony honoring these heroes without having to throw out a racial slur,” Warren said.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that “what most people find offensive is Sen. Warren lying about her heritage to advance her career,” saying the notion that “Pocahontas” is a racial slur is “ridiculous.”

“Look, I think Sen. Warren was very offensive when she lied about something specifically to advance her career,” Sanders said. “I don’t understand why no one’s asking about that question and why that isn’t constantly covered.”

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Warren has said her claim of Native American heritage stemmed from family stories, and she denied that she used it to advance her career.

The president, whose remarks followed those of veteran code talker Peter MacDonald, said he “had the most beautiful speech written out” but didn’t deliver it.

“What I’m gonna do is I’m gonna give you my speech,” he told MacDonald as he handed him a black binder. “And I know you like me so you’ll save it. But that was so well delivered — from the heart, that was from the heart — so I’m gonna give you this speech ’cause I don’t wanna bore them with saying the same thing you just said.”

MacDonald was among some of the surviving 13 code talkers from World War II to visit the White House. Trump, whose doctor proclaimed that he would “be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” marveled at MacDonald’s health.

“You said you’re 90 years old?” the president asked. “That’s great. ’Cause you have good genes. That means the press has got me to kick around for a long time.”

