Sen. Elizabeth Warren released the results of a DNA test Monday morning showing a strong possibility that she has Native American ancestry, in a likely attempt to ward off further attacks should she run for president in 2020.
Critics of Warren, including the president, have frequently accused her of making false claims about her heritage in order to advance her career. President Donald Trump has frequently mocked the democratic senator with the nickname “Pocahontas.”
In a video posted to her website, Warren sits down at her desk to call the geneticist who performed the test.
"The facts suggest that you absolutely have a Native American ancestor in your pedigree,” says Carlos Bustamante, professor of genetics at Stanford and adviser to Ancestry.com and 23 and Me.
Bustamante states later in the video that the error rate for such a test is less than 1 in a thousand.
The report placed Warren’s Native American ancestor between six to ten generations ago, meaning the senator is between 1/32 and 1/1024 Native American..
President Trump stated he would donate a million dollars to charity if Warren took a DNA test proving her Native American heritage at a campaign rally in Montana last summer, “Who cares?” Trump said when reporters asked him about the test Monday morning.
“I didn’t say that,” he said when reminded of his bet. “Nope. You’d better read it again.”
Warren hit back on Twitter.
“Having some memory problems, @realDonaldTrump?” her senate reelection campaign account tweeted, accompanied by a video of the president’s earlier statements. “Should we call for a doctor?”
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway dismissed the report as “junk science,” saying “I haven’t looked at the test. And it really doesn’t interest me to be frank with you.”
The video and full report were posted on a page along with filmed testimonials from former colleagues that her ancestry played no role in decisions to hire her at the institutions she worked at throughout her legal and academic career.
