US President Donald Trump speaks to the press after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 10, 2025.
Donald Trump revisited Sen. Elizabeth Warren's claims of Native American ancestry Monday night following criticism from the Democratic lawmaker over the CFPB's shutdown. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Trump called Warren 'Pocahontas,' reviving years-long questions about the senator's claims over her Native American ancestry
  • The president said Warren used her Native American heritage claims to get into college and secure jobs
  • Warren apologized in 2018 for her attempts to use DNA test results to prove her Native American heritage

U.S. President Donald Trump revived the issue around the Native American ancestry of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., calling her a "fake" for her allegedly questionable claims about having a Native American heritage.

Trump was asked Monday night about Democrats, including Sen. Warren, being against the idea of the shutdown of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

"Yeah, Pocahontas the faker," Trump said of the Massachusetts senator. The business mogul-turned-president said the CFPB was "set up to destroy people," alleging that Warren "used that [CFPB] as her little personal agency to go around and destroy people."

He went on to roast Warren for being a supposed "fake."

"Just like she was an Indian – she wasn't an Indian," he said, adding that the reporter who raised the CFPB question had "more Indian blood on you than she has."

Trump didn't stop with the "Pocahontas" mockery. He went on to accuse the Democratic lawmaker of going to college and getting jobs "based on the fact that she was an Indian."

Trump's comments over Warren's Native American heritage claims were in relation to events in 2012, when questions emerged over the senator's beliefs regarding her Native American heritage and supposed titles she received due to her claims.

Late in 2018, Warren released DNA analysis results that showed there were "5 genetic segments" identified as "Native American in origin at high confidence," and "the great majority of [Warren's] identifiable ancestry is European."

As per the analysis, Warren's Native American ancestry dates back between six and 10 generations ago.

She later apologized "for further confusion on tribal sovereignty and tribal citizenship harm that resulted."

Cherokee Nation executive director of communications Julie Hubbard said Warren did reach out and apologize over her attempts to use her DNA analysis results to confirm her Native American lore.

A 2019 Washington Post report revealed that a Texas bar registration card from 1986 shows Warren had written "American Indian" as her race.

CNN noted how, before the Post reported about the bar registration card, Warren "had maintained some level of plausible deniability about claiming herself as a Native American."

Some X users are now joining in the criticism of Warren over her past claims. "She openly lied about being an Indian and got job titles for it, entirely fabricated," said Walter Curt.

Petey B, a well-followed figure in cryptocurrency, said liberals can be outraged over Trump's aggressive takes on Warren, "but he isn't lying about anything here."

Warren has yet to comment on Trump's latest jab.

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