Warren says Trump called her 'Pocahontas' to distract from tax cuts for billionaires and corporations


Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said President Trump "stooped to a disgusting low" on Monday when he called her "Pocahontas" during a ceremony honoring Navajo code talkers who served during World War II.
"He did this because he thinks that he can bully me and shut me up," she wrote on Facebook Monday night. "He thinks he can bully and silence anybody he wants." Warren clarified that she learned about her "family's heritage the same way everyone else does — from my parents and grandparents. I never asked for and never got any benefit from it." This isn't about her ancestry, though, Warren said, but rather Trump trying to get the spotlight away from things he doesn't want the public to see.
When Trump calls her Pocahontas, "he's happy that people are not focused on how he's trying to cut taxes for billionaires and giant corporations," Warren said. "He's happy we're not focused on how he's trying to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to let big banks and predatory lenders scam ordinary Americans out of billions of dollars." Trump wants everyone to be "distracted," she continued, "but we're not going to stop standing up for middle-class families. We're not going to stop standing up for consumers."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
July 16 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include the Epstein files landing on everyone's summer reading list, and the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
-
Viktor Orban: is time up for Europe's longest-serving premier?
Today's Big Question Hungarian PM's power is under threat 'but not in the way – or from the people – one might expect'
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials