With the news that Elizabeth Warren is the last white woman on the short list of VP options for Biden, I figured it was a good time to go to the vault for that time when the media/left insisted that Warren was not, in fact, white.
Remember the Native American debate?
thread
Remember the Native American debate?


As a refresh, @ewarren released a DNA test in 2018 saying she was AT LEAST 1/1,024th Native American to - I kid you not - prove her Native American heritage.
The media took this as proof - their word, not mine - validating the claim sheâd be making for years. Hereâs @nytimes.
The media took this as proof - their word, not mine - validating the claim sheâd be making for years. Hereâs @nytimes.
Youâll be as surprised as I am that @CNN/ @CNNPolitics bought this utterly ridiculous âproofâ hook, line and sinker.
It is amazing that one of the â5 things we learnedâ from @ewarrenâs test isnât âElizabeth Warren is not actually Native American.â
Astute observations as always, @CillizzaCNN
Astute observations as always, @CillizzaCNN
Your tax dollars hard at work over at @NPR.
I let outlets and individuals off the hook if they hedged this one even a little, or said that Warren âclaimedâ versus âprovedâ her âancestryâ claim.
@thedailybeast, well, they didnât do that. Four-pic entry.
@thedailybeast, well, they didnât do that. Four-pic entry.
Where would we be without fact checkers? And this second one might be my favorite tweet ever. Thank you for this gem, @NBCNews
Also, @factcheckdotorg got in on the fun here, using the classic double negative to claim that itâs false to say Warren isnât a Native American.
@USATODAY really went the extra mile here. Promoting a lie or otherwise, you really love to see the effort.
@johntpm called me a âcomical spudâ earlier today. Itâs a good insult, Iâll grant him, but it is a little rich coming from someone whose outlet said that an analysis finding someone is 1/1024th Native American âproves she does have Native American heritageâ IMO. @TPM
Back to the usual suspects. Gotta add more per tweet to save space.
Hereâs @ap with more of the same.
Ditto @yahoonews.
Apparently @BuzzFeedNews got the talking points too.
And @people? Sure. Why not.
Hereâs @ap with more of the same.
Ditto @yahoonews.
Apparently @BuzzFeedNews got the talking points too.
And @people? Sure. Why not.
No, @vanityfair, I donât think that she did.
And the apology tour was well-covered too. Somehow the cognitive dissonance of covering her apology while still mentioning that she used âa DNA test to prove sheâs part Native Americanâ didnât tear apart the galaxy or at least @LATimes. Or @business, who used all the same words.
And we had plenty of places reminding us that @realdonaldtrump agreed to pay $1 million if Warren took a DNA test and it proved she was Native American.
A lot of folks forgot about that second part, including hometown paper @BostonGlobe.
A lot of folks forgot about that second part, including hometown paper @BostonGlobe.
More of the same from @washingtonpost.
And I suppose I wouldnât have expected better from @nowthisnews.
And I suppose I wouldnât have expected better from @nowthisnews.
And individual reporters got in on the action. Hereâs @jmartNYT.
What to make indeed, @JudyWoodruff. What to make.
And it wasnât just media. Many of the usual galaxy brain twitter users weighed in on behalf of Warrenâs laughable test results. Hereâs @tonyposnanski
And fan favorite @DeanObeidallah.
And long-suffering Trump Derangement Syndrome patient @StephenKing.
And fan favorite @DeanObeidallah.
And long-suffering Trump Derangement Syndrome patient @StephenKing.
Apparently this was proof enough for @adamcbest. And the funny man @danagould, who I would imagine may wish he had that joke back.
And for some, @ewarrenâs willful cultural appropriation wasnât the real story. For @abc, it wasnât Warren who was the problem, but those pesky geneticists.
At @voxdotcom, Warrenâs lies play second fiddle to the new plan - her longest yet! she âwent all outâ! - that was a âmeticulous wayâ to address the âmisfireâ of...requesting, hyping up, and publishing a DNA test that claims she was less than 1/1000th Native American.
Apparently âthe pointâ of @ewarren releasing a DNA test showing she was less than 1/1000th Native American was beside the point, to @NYMag.
And even if - gasp! - she isnât Native American, the real culprit, as always, remains Donald Trump. Right, @NYMag?
And even if - gasp! - she isnât Native American, the real culprit, as always, remains Donald Trump. Right, @NYMag?
It would be great to report that, after this harrowing lesson in the dangers of taking a political candidate at face value when it comes to personal claims, the media has grown from the experience but...
Well, I canât confidently claim that now can I.
Well, I canât confidently claim that now can I.