Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Lindsey Graham Just Announced He'll Take a DNA Test In Hopes of 'Beating' Elizabeth Warren's Native Ancestry, and People Have Questions

Lindsey Graham Just Announced He'll Take a DNA Test In Hopes of 'Beating' Elizabeth Warren's Native Ancestry, and People Have Questions
(Photo by Ethan Miller and Chris Kleponis/Getty Images)

Huh?

In response to repeated racial slurs by President Donald Trump on Twitter and in his rallies and public appearances, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren took a DNA test to prove her claim of an unnamed, unidentified Native American ancestor in her mother's family line.

On Monday, Warren shared her DNA results and her family story asking Trump to pay the $1 million dollars he said he would donate to charity if she took a DNA test and proved there was a Native American ancestor in her matrilineal genealogy.


But rather than admit he was wrong or make the charitable donation, Trump first said he did not care, denied his July statement issuing the challenge and then took to Twitter Tuesday morning to again use the name of Tsenacommacah Algonquian Confederacy woman, Pocahontas, as a racial slur. Native leaders asked the President to stop using Pocahontas' name in attacks on Warren.

It seems the bar shifted from proving Warren had a Native American ancestor, which is what she claimed based on stories from her mother, to having "enough" Native American DNA and tribal enrollment in the Cherokee Nation.

Warren mentioned her mother thought the ancestor might be Cherokee, but never claimed tribal affiliation. However after her DNA test reveal, the media sought input from the Cherokee Nation.

As sovereign nations, tribes determine their own eligibility criteria for citizens and enrollment. DNA testing is not a factor in tribal citizenship or affiliation.

But Trump and his supporters seized on the relatively small amount of Native American DNA in Warren's results, even though it proves she did have an unidentified Native ancestor as she claimed, and her lack of endorsement for tribal citizenship from the Cherokee Nation as a new opportunity to mock Warren.

On Tuesday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham got in on the attack during an appearance on Fox & Friends. Graham stated:

"I've been told that my grandmother was part Cherokee Indian. It may all be just talk, but you're gonna find out in a couple of weeks because I'm gonna take this test."

Graham said he was sure he could "beat Warren." He added:

"I didn't think about it much, but if she's less than one tenth of one percent, I think I can beat her."

In his remarks regarding Warren, Graham said he viewed the test as a "reality TV moment" and vowed to reveal his results on Fox & Friends. Graham topped it off with a racist comment about getting $1 million and a casino, as a jab at Native American gaming.

"I'm going to take it, but the results are going to be revealed here. This is my Trump moment."

Not content with mocking Warren and the Cherokee Nation, Graham ended his visit with a jab at Persians, or Iranians, as the South Carolina Senator called them. The GOP legislator said:

"I'll probably be Iranian. That'd be, like, terrible."

Watch his remarks here.

People failed to appreciate Senator Graham's comments.

Many cited Graham's confusion between racism and humor.

While others wondered about the obsession with Warren's ancestry and what else might show up in a Graham DNA test.

Warren is up for reelection in November's midterms. Midterm elections are slated for Tuesday, November 6, 2018.

More from People/donald-trump

Donald Trump
Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images

MAGA Voter Calls Out Trump For Ruining Their Retirement—And Gets Little Sympathy Online

Yet another MAGA minion expressed voter's remorse online after the Trump administration's ineptitude tanked their retirement plans, but sympathy was hard to find for someone who got what they voted for.

The "Leopards Ate My Face" subReddit (r/LeopardsAteMyFace) curates such posts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dolly Parton
Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

MAGA Fan Tries To Go After 'Creepy Creature' Dolly Parton—And People Are Not Having Any Of It

A MAGA X user that goes by the name "JULIE DONUTS" found herself on the wrong side of fans of beloved music icon Dolly Parton—yes, Dolly "Imagination Library" Parton, the celebrated humanitarian and activist—after calling her a "creepy creature" for promoting her new book at Costco.

Parton's book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage was released last month. It is a compendium that chronicles a career going stronger than ever after seven decades on stage and includes many photographs and behind-the-scenes moments that any fan of hers will love.

Keep ReadingShow less
Brett Smiley; Donald Trump
Libby O'Neill/Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images

Mayor Urges People To Only Trust Official Sources After Trump Spreads Misinformation About Brown University Shooting

Brett Smiley, the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, urged residents to trust only official sources after President Donald Trump shared misinformation on social media about the mass shooting at Brown University that occured over the weekend.

On Saturday, a shooter opened fire on campus, killing two students and wounding nine others. Authorities identified the deceased as Ella Cook, a second-year student from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek national in his first year of studies.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Share The Most Polite Ways To Say 'I Want You To Go Home Now'

Whether we're introverts, people pleasers, or highly sociable, we still all understand that feeling of being tired and wanting to say, 'That's a wrap!" at the end of the day.

But sometimes, we get that feeling while we still have guests in our home, and we have to figure out what to say to get them out of our house, just so we can get some sleep.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mehmet Oz
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images

Dr. Oz Ripped After Telling Federal Workers To Lay Off The Christmas Cookies

Dr. Mehmet Oz—Donald Trump's administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)—sparked backlash after he told federal workers to stop eating so many Christmas cookies, urging them to cut back on how much they eat, emphasizing portion control, and other familiar advice.

In his weekly bulletin titled “From the Administrator’s Desk,” according to emails viewed by WIRED, Oz dedicated an entire section to "Cutting Cubicle Cravings."

Keep ReadingShow less