White House Press Sec. Says Donald Trump's "Pocahontas" Comment Isn't Offensive

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives two thumbs up to the crowd during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18.
Donald Trump called Senator Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas" at Navajo Veterans event.

Donald Trump is constantly a source of controversy. Whether it's his morning rants on Twitter or comments he makes during press conferences, he definitely holds nothing back and the worst part is, he's never apologetic for what he says despite who it may offend. Earlier today, the White House hosted an event to honor Native American military veterans. While honoring these veterans, he took a moment to fire a shot at Senator Elizabeth Warren by calling her "Pocahontas" due to her Native American background. This isn't the first time he's called her that and likely not the last time. He's caught flack for using the term as a racial slur. However, his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, denied that it was racial in any way.

During a press conference earlier today at the White House, Huckabee was asked why the president thought it would be okay to use a term that's offensive to others. Instead of directly responding to what he asked, she flipped it on Warren to say people are more offended that she lied about her heritage to further her career.

"What I think most people find offensive is Senator Warren lying about her heritage to advance her career," Huckabee said. 

She later responded to Warren's claims that "Pocahontas" is a racial slur by saying it's a "ridiculous response" to what Trump had said. 

A few questions in, someone asked why Trump thought it would be okay to use a racial slur in any context. Which was the moment when Huckabee completely denied that he did.

"I don't believe that it is appropriate for him to make a racial slur, or anybody else," Sanders said, "I don't think that it is [a racial slur] and I certainly don't think that was the president's intent."

The comments in which they were referring was when he was honoring the Native American's who served as code talkers in WWII.

"You were here long before any of us were here. Although we have a representative in Congress who, they say, was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas," he said about Warren.

Despite the comment, Huckabee assured everyone that his respect for the Native American code talkers were reflective in his actions of inviting them to the White House.

You could watch both clips below:


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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