Update 9:45 p.m. EDT Oct. 15: President Donald Trump responded to Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) announcement Monday that a DNA analysis proves she has Native American ancestry.
Trump has often taunted and mocked Warren using the term “Pocahantas” and has accused her of claiming a Native American ancestor to gain an advantage as a law professor. He vowed to contribute $1 million to her favorite charity if DNA analysis actually proved she had native ancestry.
He changed his mind while touring storm-damaged areas in Georgia, telling reporters he initially offered the donation only if she agreed to a DNA test during a debate as the Democrat’s nominee for president.
"I'll only do it if I can test her personally, and that will not be something I will enjoy doing either," he said, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Also Monday, the Cherokee Nation offered a rare rebuke of Warren.
"Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong," the tribe's secretary of state, Chuck Hoskin Jr., said in a statement, according to OKNews.com.
"It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven,” Hoskin said.
Warren said earlier in the day that when “someone brings up my family story, I’ll use it to lift up the story of Native families and communities.”
She said it’s an opportunity to highlight the work of the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC).
“I'll use it today to lift up the NIWRC and their amazing work to protect Native women from violence,” she said.
Original story: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has released an analysis of her DNA showing that she has Native American ancestry.
An analysis of Warren's DNA sample showed she had a Native American ancestor in her family dating back six to 10 generations, according to WFXT. The release of the analysis comes after President Donald Trump has mocked her repeatedly for her claim that she has Native American blood, and repeatedly questioned her ancestry.
A Stanford professor, Carlos D. Bustamante, who was awarded a MacArthur genius grant for his work tracking population migration via DNA, performed the analysis of the DNA. His report says the majority of Warren's ancestry is European, but there is strong evidence to suggest that she has a Native American ancestor.
Warren's office also released a video to YouTube, "Elizabeth Warren's family story," which directly addresses the attacks on her heritage by the President and includes interviews with her family. A "Fact Squad" website with links to the DNA report and supporting documents was also launched.
Last month, Warren spoke about her future during a town hall in western Massachusetts on Sept. 30. She said she'll take a "hard look at running for president" after the November elections.
Warren, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, is running for re-election in November against GOP state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who was co-chairman of Trump's 2016 Massachusetts campaign.
She has been at the center of speculation that she might take on Trump in 2020.
