Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) found herself at the butt of President Trump’s joke on Tuesday night when he referred to her as “Pocahontas” while discussing his plan to end the Ukraine war.
The remark from the president came after he asked Democrats if they wanted to keep the war going for another five years.
“Yeah, you would say [yes]. Pocahontas says yes,” Trump said after someone in the crowd responded.
After Trump’s address to Congress, Warren was asked if she was surprised that she was singled out by Trump, to which she said “no.”
“The whole speech was a fantasy that Donald Trump tries to construct,” she said.
She said that “Ukrainians have been on the front lines for three years.” She also said she has visited the war-torn country and that Trump’s characterization of what’s going on is wrong.
“And Donald Trump is determined to throw in with Vladimir Putin,” she said.
Trump first started referring to Warren as “Pocahontas” after she claimed that she had Native American history. In 2019, she published the results of a DNA test to prove it but has since apologized to the Cherokee Nation.
“Senator Warren has reached out to us and has apologized to the tribe,” Julie Hubbard, a spokesperson with the Cherokee Nation, said in a statement at the time. “We are encouraged by this dialogue and understanding that being a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen is rooted in centuries of culture and laws not through DNA tests. We are encouraged by her action and hope that the slurs and mockery of tribal citizens and Indian history and heritage will now come to an end.”
As for Trump bringing the nickname back, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (IL) said it was unpresidential and “low-rent” to take a shot at Warren.
“That’s kind of a low-rent thing you don’t expect from a president of the United States,” he said.