CNN's Erin Burnett speaks with "The Breakfast Club" radio show host Charlamagne Tha God about his interview with Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren in which he compared Warren to Rachel Dolezal, a woman who was born white but pretended to be black.



Charlamagne Tha God said the problem is not that she took a "shortcut," it's that she wouldn't acknowledge it.





"It's the dishonesty," he said. "You can be dishonest at one point in your life, but you admit that hey, I was being dishonest here, and I learned from the lesson, I can rock with you."





ERIN BURNETT, CNN: Tonight, the fight for 2020, the candidates making the cut for the first Democratic debate just announced. And there are 20 facing off later this month.



One candidate on the list, Elizabeth Warren, she's neck and neck with Bernie Sanders nationally in the latest Quinnipiac poll and ahead in a poll out of Nevada.



Warren appeared in "The Breakfast Club", a radio show hosted by Charlamagne tha God, which has become an important step for Democrats. He asked her about the DNA test she took and her Native American roots.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not a citizen of a tribe. And I shouldn't have done it.



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, HOST, THE BREAKFAST CLUB: If you had a chance to do it over, would you?



WARREN: I can't go back. But I shouldn't have.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



BURNETT: I sat down with Charlamagne yesterday and asked him about Warren's surging poll numbers.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I mean, I think it's good. I think she's rising in the polls. If you actually listen to Elizabeth Warren, she has a lot of plans, you know? Like you ask her about certain things, she can tell you, hey, I want to put $50 million in the HBCUs or talking about the black maternal death rate and what she wants to do about that. She just talks about actual issues and she has legislation she wants to present for things.



I think people are into that. Everybody is running on this whole anti-Trump agenda, which is great, but that's not making me just vote on you just because you're anti-Trump.



So, I think she actually had plans and policies, she sticks to that and people are into that.



BURNETT: I mean, all 23-plus of them have the anti-Trump thing down, right?



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Absolutely.



BURNETT: So, it's what else is distinguishes you.



All right. So, on the issue, the Achilles heel or not as the case may be we shall see, you really pushed on claims of being Native American, which she made over time, right? I mean, we all know, this has been documented.



Here is more of your exchange.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



WARREN: I'm not a person of color. I'm not a citizen of a tribe. And tribal citizenship is an important distinction. And not something I am. So --



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Was there any benefits to that?



WARREN: No, "Boston Globe" did a full investigation. It never affected -- nothing about my family ever affected any job I ever got.



DJ ENVY, CO-HOST, THE BREAKFAST CLUB: You didn't get a discount in college.



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: You're kind of like the original Rachel Dolezal a little bit. Rachel Dolezal is a white woman pretending to be black.



WARREN: This is what I learned from my family.



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yes.



WARREN: Yes.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



BURNETT: Do you buy her answers?



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: No. Only because, you know, Elizabeth Warren like I said she has so many policies and plans and everything else is so detail when you asked her about something, when you asked her about that, she's like, that's what I learned from my family. There is so many questions can you ask. So did the rest of your family find out they weren't Native American when you did? Like -- so, I definitely don't buy her answer.



BURNETT: And she cites "The Boston Globe" saying she never benefitted. It's not clear whether she thought she would. There are unanswered questions.



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I mean, she had benefit in some way shape or form. I don't understand why she would act that would disqualify her.



Like we're Americans, we've all cheated at some point in our life. We've all took some type of shortcut. We've all tried to get ahead in some way.



If she did that at some point in her life, that wouldn't make me look at her be like you're a terrible.



BURNETT: You wouldn't dismiss her for that.



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: No.



BURNETT: You're saying her answers don't add up but the issue itself is not disqualifying for her.



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: It's the dishonesty. You can be dishonest at one point in your life, but you admit that hey, I was being dishonest here, and I learned from the lesson, I can rock with you.



BURNETT: So, was she smart to put this in the rearview mirror because she was slammed for the DNA test, right? I mean, you know, Trump seized upon it. She did it in December. People said, oh, this is really bad for her.



And yet, she does appear to have moved on. Was she smart to essentially do that and get it done, learn the lesson?



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yes, but eventually, people are going to keep asking about it until she acknowledges it in a real way. Meaning, hey, I did it, I was wrong. This is why I did. I thought I could get ahead. And, you know, I learned my lesson from it.



BURNETT: It's I thought I could get ahead, if that's what you think is the case.



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yes.



BURNETT: That's certainly not what she's saying.



CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I believe in living your truth. Live your truth and nobody can use your truth against you.