"Pocahontas" alone should be disqualifying for both Trump and Warren
Elizabeth Warren says a DNA test show she's part Indian. Now her supposed opponents are moving the strike zone and Donald Trump is claiming he never offered to donate to charity if she took a DNA test [1].
The whole "Pocahontas" issue alone should disqualify Trump from holding public office. At the same time, Warren's handling of the issue should also disqualify her. Both are harming the USA and leading us further along the Road to Idiocracy.
On July 5, Trump said this at a campaign rally, addressing Warren: "I will give you a million dollars, to your favorite charity, paid for by Trump, if you take the test and it shows you’re an Indian. I have a feeling she will say 'no' ". Now he says: "I didn't say that. You'd better read it again". His defense will probably be that the DNA test doesn't show she's an Indian: she's only distantly part Indian.
Likewise, Legal Insurrection - a site so depraved they made a whole wiki about ad hom attacks on Warren - blogs "Elizabeth Warren DNA test does NOT prove she’s Native American, contrary to the hype / At most shows “strong evidence” of an ancestor dating back 6-10 generations, but is not conclusive, and more important, being Native American is not just about DNA markers".
Warren should have foreseen that all this would happen, because it's how conservatives do things. She should have first pinned Trump or his proxies down on what they mean by "Indian", then released the results. As it is now, she's more or less back to square one. She's certainly not going to stop the GOP from continuing to call her "Pocahontas".
Warren should have also made Trump and GOP leaders using "Pocahontas" a bad experience for them. Warren could have done that by working to undercut them to their base each time they used "Pocahontas". She might have done that once or twice in a weak way, but she didn't do it enough and she didn't do it forcefully. For instance, when Trump says "Pocahontas", she could respond by speaking directly to his base and working to convince some of them that Trump's tax policies would harm them.
As for Trump and the GOP, relying on something as incredibly dumb as "Pocahontas" should disqualify them. What they should have done is these five smart ways Trump could undercut Liz Warren from June 2016. Especially the fifth item: Warren is very pro-corporate on immigration but her supporters don't know it because Trump and the GOP are too dumb and corrupt to use it against her.
Idiotic things like "Pocahontas" are safe for Trump and the GOP: they won't impact GOP donors' attempts to profit from massive illegal activity. Not to mention that raising her immigration stance might expose how much she and Trump agree on the issue.
2/1/19 UPDATE: From "Elizabeth Warren Apologizes to Cherokee Nation for DNA Test" [2]:
...Warren... has apologized to the Cherokee Nation for her decision to take a DNA test to prove her Native American ancestry, a move that had angered some tribal leaders and ignited a significant political backlash.
The apology comes as Ms. Warren is set to formally kick off her presidential run this month... It also comes after repeated calls for her to apologize from tribal leaders, political operatives, and her own advisers, who said her October decision to take the DNA test gave undue credence to the controversial claim that race could be determined by blood - and politically, played into President Trump’s hands.
On Thursday, Ms. Warren called Bill John Baker, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, to apologize for the DNA test, said Julie Hubbard, a spokeswoman for the tribe. She called it a “brief and private” conversation...
2/5/19 UPDATE: From "Elizabeth Warren apologizes for calling herself Native American" [3]:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday [2/5/19] that she was sorry that she identified herself as a Native American for almost two decades, reflecting her ongoing struggle to quiet a controversy that continues to haunt her as she prepares to formally announce a presidential bid.
Her comments more fully explain the regret she expressed last week to the chief of the Cherokee Nation, the first time she’s said she was sorry for claiming American Indian heritage.
The private apology was earlier reported as focusing more narrowly on a DNA test she took to demonstrate her purported heritage, a move that prompted a ferocious backlash even from many allies. Warren will be vying to lead a party that has become far more mindful of nonwhite voters and their objections to misuse of their culture.
“I can’t go back,” Warren said in an interview with The Washington Post. “But I am sorry for furthering confusion on tribal sovereignty and tribal citizenship and harm that resulted.”
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[1] thehill · com/homenews/administration/411414-trump-denies-offering-1-million-for-warren-dna-test-even-though-he
[2] nytimes · com/2019/02/01/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-cherokee-dna.html
[3] washingtonpost · com/politics/elizabeth-warren-apologizes-for-calling-herself-native-american/2019/02/05/1627df76-2962-11e9-984d-9b8fba003e81_story.html