Trump goaded Elizabeth Warren into taking a DNA test, and she's campaigning on the results
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) took President Trump up on his offer. Trump, who regularly mocks Warren's assertion that she has Native American ancestry, said he would donate $1 million if she took a DNA test. Now she has. It found "strong evidence" she had a Native American in her family tree at least six generations ago, The Boston Globe reports. Warren provided a DNA sample to a lab in Georgia, and the results were analyzed by world-renowned Stanford DNA ancestry expert Carlos Bustamante and sent to Warren last week. "The vast majority" of her ancestry is European, Bustamante found, but the results also "strongly support the existence of an unadmixed Native American ancestor."
Six to 10 generations "fits Warren's family lore, passed down during her Oklahoma upbringing, that her great-great-great-grandmother, O.C. Sarah Smith, was at least partially Native American," the Globe reports. But it also indicates she's no more that 1/32 Native American. Warren is expected to easily win re-election to the Senate in November, but the ad about her ancestry she released on Monday suggests she's serious about a run for president.
The Boston Globe extensively researched Republican claims that Warren got any of her academic jobs because of her claim to Native ancestry, and found only evidence that she was not considered a minority hire.
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.
That's not to say people use dubious Native American ancestry to get preferential treatment. On Sunday, for example, the Los Angeles Times reported that a company owned by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) brother-in-law William Wages earned more than $7 million in federal contracts due to Wages' claim to be 1/8 Cherokee. Wages belongs to the federally unrecognized Northern Cherokee Nation, considered fraudulent interlopers by the three recognized Cherokee tribes. Neither Wages nor any of his known ancestors appear on tribal ancestry rolls dating back to the early 19th century, a Cherokee genealogist discovered, and the Times found that all of Wages' ancestors identified as white.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Government shutdown looming? Blame the border
Talking Points Democrats and Republicans say funding for immigration enforcement is the budget battle's latest sticking point. That's about all they agree on.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Conservatives have not limited their attack on reproductive rights to the US'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Putin's preordained win marred by protests
speed read Voters participated in a silent protest — endorsed by late opposition leader Alexei Navalny — against the president
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's 'bloodbath' rhetoric draws scrutiny
speed read In a new speech, the former president seemingly promises violence if he loses the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russians start to vote in election Putin will win
speed read Putin's opponents are mostly in prison, exiled or dead
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Schumer slams Netanyahu, calls for new leader
speed read The senator — one of Israel's most avid supporters — criticized the country's handling of the Gaza war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
South Dakota governor sued over Texas dentist promo
speed read Gov. Kristi Noem posted a video testimonial that may have been an "undisclosed advertisement"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hur defends description of Biden's 'poor memory'
speed read Former special counsel Robert Hur defended disparaging remarks made about Biden's age in his report
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Pentagon's surprise $300M for Ukraine
speed read The Pentagon is giving $300 million worth of military aid to Ukraine, mostly for ammunition
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump clinch nominations
speed read The current and former president have each secured enough delegates for an election rematch
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published