Trump just called Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas” while honoring Native American code talkers

President Donald Trump hosted a White House event on Monday to honor Native American code talkers — war heroes who used their native languages to create unbreakable codes that helped the United States win World War II.

And he used the occasion to refer to Sen. Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas.”

“I just want to thank you because you’re very, very special people. You were here long before any of us were here,” Trump said to the code talkers beside him. “Although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas."

Trump did not refer to Warren directly, but “Pocahontas” is his preferred insult for the Massachusetts senator, who has said she has Cherokee ancestors. As Emily Crockett explained for Vox earlier this year, Trump uses the nickname to revive questions about Warren’s heritage, an issue in her 2012 Senate race, despite its racist overtones.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders used that as a defense of Trump’s comment at the Monday press briefing. “I think what most people find offensive is Sen. Warren lying about her heritage to advance her career,” she said.

Warren fired back at Trump’s dig on MSNBC, saying, "It is deeply unfortunate that the president of the United States cannot make it through a ceremony honoring these heroes without throwing out a racial slur."

After Trump made his Pocahontas reference, he tried to pivot back to the topic at hand: “But you know what,” he added, placing his hand on the shoulder of one of the code talkers, “I like you.”

Trump did actually praise the bravery of the code talkers at the event: “You are special people. You are really incredible people, and from the heart, from the absolute heart, we appreciate what you’ve done, how you’ve done it — the bravery that you displayed, and the love that you have for your country.”

He said all this while standing in front of a portrait of President Andrew Jackson — whose policies to forcibly remove Native Americans, including the Cherokee Nation, from their lands led to the death of thousands on the Trail of Tears.

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