Who cares?
So Elizabeth Warren has called Trump’s bluff.
In a rather unusual campaign move, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has released the results of a DNA test that she says provides “strong evidence” of Native American ancestry dating back six to 10 generations, addressing a controversy that has followed her for years.
…
At a rally in Montana this past July, Trump taunted Warren for her claims of Native American ancestry, calling her “Pocahontas.” He suggested that if he were to debate her in 2020, he would give her one of those take-home DNA kits “they sell on television for $2.”
“Trump taunted Warren” is putting it very mildly. The obnoxious, childish, bullying grossness of his performance is nausea-inducing. NPR helpfully included the clip.
“I will give you a million dollars to your favorite charity paid for by Trump if you take the test and it shows you’re an Indian,” Trump added, as the crowd cheered. But on Monday morning, the president was asked about the challenge and falsely told reporters, “I didn’t say that.”
That is to say, he lied to reporters.
Which is sad, because there is no doubt that her favorite charity could use the million dollars – and he could spare it.
(I like how Trump thinks DNA tests tell you where you were born.)
The people are the right are jumping on the fact that Trump said he’d pay $1 million if the test “shows [she’s] an Indian” and she is not by any accepted definition a Native American.
I find that ridiculous because she clearly claimed that she had a distant ancestor that was a Native American, and that’s what he was disputing. She’s proven her claims had a basis in fact, so he should cough up the money.
But he won’t, and I doubt this will even shut him up as far as the “Pocahontas” slur goes.
Trump loves money more than anything. Possibly more than he likes his daughter’s backside even. When he promised to donate money to veterans groups he had to be publicly backed into a corner to donate even some of the promised money, so paying up on a claim like this as a matter of honour, not a chance.
Rob, the missing possessive ‘s’ gives your ‘daughter’ comment a whole new meaning!!
Oops
Thanks, Ophelia; that edit makes me look like a blathering fool. Too close to the truth for my liking ;-)
As a friend tells me “Hey! I resemble that remark!”
Want to hear a real irony? PZ is explaining how Elizabeth Warren cannot be a Native American because she hasn’t lived the reality of a Native American. I think most of us would agree with that (and so would she). Now perhaps if he could think about that a bit harder, he might begin to understand a little bit about the problem of just saying you feel like something and that magically making you that?
Nah, never happen. Because he already knows that, but for some reason believes it does not apply to one particular class of people. Magical thinking can turn you into a woman if you just say so, but it cannot turn you into a Native American even if you have the ancestry, if you don’t have the lived experience.
(I do imagine most trans-women could legitimately claim that some of their ancestors were women, though).
iknklast, so every time PZ blathers on about his Norwegian heritage he should just shut up because he has no lived experience of being Norwegian. He’s just another old, white American dude.
AoS, he sort of said that in his piece. He is better at preaching than practicing.
Hmmm, the embedded links are now broken
YouTube was down for a while.