Elizabeth Warren Releases DNA Test On Native American Heritage
BOSTON (CBS/AP) - Senator Elizabeth Warren has released the results of a DNA test reportedly showing she does have Native American ancestry, increasing speculation she may run for president in 2020.
The analysis was done by Stanford University professor Carlos Bustamante, who is an expert in the field. It shows most of Warren's ancestry is European, but a Native American relative appears in her family tree 6 to 10 generations ago.
Warren has been mocked by President Trump and other politicians for claiming a Native American descendant. Trump has often referred to her as Pocahontas, claiming she has lied about her heritage.
Warren's has said that her great-great-great-grandmother, O.C. Sarah Smith, was at least partially Native American. That would make Warren 1/32nd Native American. But if her ancestor is 10 generations back, that could mean she's just 1/1,024th Native American, according to the report. That could further excite her critics instead of placating them.
The Boston Globe said Warren provided the test results to the paper Sunday "in an effort to defuse questions about her ancestry that have persisted for years."
She released them to the public Monday morning in a video on a new website Warren's staff created to explain her heritage.
"This new website has more than you'd ever want to know about the smears, made-up quotes, and invented stories thrown at me," Warren said in a statement. "It has personnel files. It has interviews with the people who hired me – and it has my own family members' opinions about the attacks."
Warren is currently running for re-election in the Senate. She will debate Republican challenger state Representative Geoff Diehl Friday night on WSBK-TV and CBSBoston.com.
She has also said she will take a "hard look" at running against Trump in 2020.
"I hope she's running for president because I think she would be very easy. I hope that she is running. I do not think she would be difficult at all. She'll destroy the country. She'll make our country into Venezuela," Trump told reporters Monday.
Warren also tweeted Monday that Trump had once pledged to give $1 million to the charity of her choice if her DNA showed Native American ancestry.
At a summer rally in Montana, the president declared that he would give a million dollars to charity, "paid for by Trump," if Warren takes the test "and it shows you're an Indian."
"I didn't say that," Trump said Monday. "You better read it again."
This story has been updated to correct an earlier reference to the percentage of Native American ancestry had the ancestor lived 10 generations ago to 1/1,024th, instead of 1/512th.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)