Why Donald Trump called Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren ‘Pocahontas’ during US Congress address

US President Donald Trump On Tuesday reignited a long-standing political feud with Senator Elizabeth Warren, referring to her as “Pocahontas” during his address to a joint session of Congress.
The comment got here as Trump mentioned US monetary help for Ukraine amid the continuing conflict with Russia.
“The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense… You wanna keep it going for another five years? Yeah. Pocahontas says yes,” Trump mentioned, seemingly pointing at Warren within the viewers. The Massachusetts senator responded with a gradual clap and a restrained smile, showing to maintain her composure.

Trump has incessantly used the “Pocahontas” nickname to mock Warren’s previous claims of Native American ancestry. The controversy dates again to Warren’s assertion that she had Indigenous heritage—claims that got here below scrutiny when she launched a 2018 DNA check displaying a small proportion of Native ancestry. Critics, together with Trump, accused her of exaggerating her background for private or political achieve.

Warren later dismissed Trump’s remarks, criticising his speech as “a fantasy.” When requested whether or not she was shocked by the assault, she merely shook her head. “No,” she mentioned. “The whole speech was a fantasy that Donald Trump tries to construct.”
Donald Trump’s feedback on Warren got here as he defended his stance on the Ukraine battle, claiming he had been working “tirelessly” to finish the conflict. “Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict with no end in sight,” he mentioned, arguing that US spending on Ukraine’s protection had exceeded $350 billion.
The “Pocahontas” comment drew criticism from Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, who called it “low-rent” and unpresidential. “That’s kind of a low-rent thing you don’t expect from a president of the United States,” Durbin mentioned.
Donald Trump’s first Congress address of his second time period adopted a turbulent first six weeks in workplace, during which he has reshaped US international coverage, engaged in a commerce conflict with key allies, and clashed with world leaders, together with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.