Trump responds to Elizabeth Warren DNA test by repeating racial slur

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Donald Trump has responded to a DNA test that supported Elizabeth Warren‘s claim she has Native American heritage by repeating a racial slur against the US senator.

In what was widely seen a further indication of her preparation to launch a presidential run in 2020, the Massachusetts Democrat this week published the results of a genetic test which show that while the “vast majority” of her DNA was European, she also had a Native American in her family tree about six to ten generations ago.

But the president responded in an early morning tweet, saying: “Pocahontas (the bad version), sometimes referred to as Elizabeth Warren, is getting slammed.

“She took a bogus DNA test and it showed that she may be 1/1024, far less than the average American. Now Cherokee Nation denies her, “DNA test is useless.” Even they don’t want her. Phony!”

In the summer of this year, Mr Trump had offered to pay $1m to a charity of Ms Warren’s choice if she took the DNA test. “I have a feeling she will say ‘no’,” he had told supporters.

On Monday, he denied having ever made such an offer. “I didn’t say that. You’d better read it again,“ Mr Trump said.

He then went on to make remarks that were widely condemned for being both offensive and “creepy”. “What’s the percentage, 1/1000th?” he told supporters as he surveyed hurricane damage in Georgia. “I’ll only do it if I can test her personally. And that will not be something I enjoy doing, either.”

On Monday, Ms Warren, 69, known as one someone willing to respond to Mr Trump’s strident attacks with a force equal to his, hit back at his comments and demanded he make good on his offer of a $1m donation.

She said he was making “creepy physical threats” about women who scare him, including her.

“He’s trying to do what he always does to women who scare him: call us names, attack us personally, shrink us down to feel better about himself,” Ms Warren, who had considered a White House run in 2016 but decided against it, said on Twitter.

“It may soothe his ego – but it won’t work.”

She said the president was a “cowardly elitist” and she “won’t sit quietly for Trump’s racism” so she took the test.

“I took this test and released the results for anyone who cares to see because I’ve got nothing to hide. What are YOU hiding, (at)realDonaldTrump?” she wrote. “Release your tax returns – or the Democratic-led House will do it for you soon enough. Tick-tock, Mr President.”

A new CNN poll carried conducted by SSRS found among Democrats, former vice president Joe Biden topped the long list of most favoured candidates to challenge Mr Trump in 2020, followed by Bernie Sanders, California senator Kamala Harris, with Ms Warren in fourth place.

But observers said Ms Warren’s decision to release her DNA ancestry may not put the issue behind her as she had hoped. Rather, they said, Mr Trump would seize on the figure of 1/1024 and likely mock her – something he started to do immediately.

Indeed, even after Barack Obama released his birth certificate to try and quash the Trump-led “birtherism” claims, the reality television host continued to question whether the president had been born in the US.

David Axelrod, who served as Mr Obama’s chief strategist, said of Mr Warren’s move: “Pretty extraordinary video to surface even before you enter the race. It says: 1) @SenWarren is 100% running. 2 ) She thinks this Pocahontas crap is a potential problem. 3) She wants to dispose of it now, lest she be Birtherised. The risk I’m sure she considered? This elevates it.”

With the midterm elections barely three weeks away, others questioned the timing of her move and the possibility it will distract Democrats from the immediate issue at hand – retaking control of the house.

Jim Messina, Mr Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, tweeted: “Argue the substance all you want, but why 22 days before a crucial election where we MUST win house and senate to save America, why did @SenWarren have to do her announcement now? Why can’t Dems ever stay focused???”