"My parents were real people...The story they lived will always be etched on my heart. And no one—not even the President of the United States—will ever take it away from me."
by Julia Conley
Weeks after indicating that she is considering a run for president in 2020, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released DNA test results on Monday that confirmed she has Native American ancestry—showing that President Donald Trump's attacks on her heritage were not only racist, but baseless as well.
A nearly six-minute video posted to Warren's "Fact Squad" website details Warren's family history and upbringing in Oklahoma and shows a genetics professor from Stanford University confirming that Warren has Native American ancestry from six to 10 generations ago.
With the video release, Warren appears intent on putting to rest the president's main line of attack on her ahead of a potential presidential challenge.
"Some people have questioned my heritage and my family history," Warren says in the video. "Maybe they do it to insult me, maybe they do it to distract from the kinds of changes I'm fighting for and the kinds of changes I'm trying to bring to Washington. Maybe they do it because they think politics is a bloodsport. But my parents were real people. The love they shared, the struggles they endured, the family they built, the story they lived will always be etched on my heart. And no one—not even the President of the United States—will ever take it away from me."
Watch:
Warren's heritage has been the subject of discussion since her 2012 Senate campaign, when Republicans publicized the fact that she had identified herself as a Native American during parts of her academic career.
The video includes several interviews with former colleagues who said Warren's ancestry had not played a role in Harvard's and the University of Pennsylvania's decisions to hire her.
Trump has mocked Warren's statements about her ancestry numerous times in recent months, often referring to her as "Pocahontas" at his rallies. In July, he offered to donate $1 million to the charity of Warren's choosing if a DNA test showed her Native American heritage. The senator took the test a month later, and on Monday followed up on the president's bet, asking him to make the check out to a nonprofit group that combats violence against Native women and children.
By the way, @realDonaldTrump: Remember saying on 7/5 that you’d give $1M to a charity of my choice if my DNA showed Native American ancestry? I remember – and here's the verdict. Please send the check to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center: https://t.co/I6YQ9hf7Tv pic.twitter.com/J4gBamaeeo
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) October 15, 2018
"Native Americans have faced discrimination, neglect, and violence for generations," Warren said. "And Trump can say whatever he wants about me. But mocking Native Americans or any group in order to try to get at me—that's not what America stands for."
Originally appeared on Commondreams.org | Photo: Elizabeth Warren