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Warren Says 'I'm Not Running for President in 2020,' Responds to 'Pocahontas' Attack by Discussing Sexual Violence Against Native Americans

March 11, 2018

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) said Sunday she is not running for the White House in 2020, and she used President Donald Trump's "Pocahontas" attack against her to discuss rates of sexual violence against Native Americans.

Trump has consistently derided Warren by the nickname as mockery for her claims of Cherokee and Delaware Indian heritage. She has no documented proof of such heritage, instead relying on family stories, and she has been dogged by questions about it since her successful U.S. Senate run in 2012.

"Does that get under your skin when he does that, and do you want to run for president in 2020?" CNN host Jim Acosta asked Warren.

"I am not running for president in 2020, but let me tell you my story," she said. "My mother and dad were born and raised in Oklahoma. My father fell in love with my mother when they were both still teenagers, and he was just head over heels over her but his family was bitterly opposed to their relationship because she was part Native American."

"Does that bother you when the president calls you Pocahontas?" Acosta asked. "Do you think that he is being disrespectful to Native Americans when he does that? Doesn't that bother you because of your family's heritage?"

Warren responded her family's story was "deeply" a part of her own. She cited her speech last month to the National Congress of American Indians where she addressed the "Pocahontas" saga by saying she would use the president's slams on her as a way to raise awareness about Native American issues.

She said she would use the opportunity on "State of the Union" to point out that "more than half" of all native women in the country have been victims of sexual violence.

"This is an issue that's happening right here in America," she said. "Native women are subjected to sexual violence at rates much higher than any other group in our country. We need to put some focus on this and we need to make some changes on this. We owe it to people living in native communities."