Trump shares tweet asking why Elizabeth Warren would have ‘lied’ about being Native American if white privilege exists

Twitter users criticise US president for questioning white privilege with retweet

Donald Trump has shared a Twitter post from a right-wing activist questioning if white privilege exists because, in their words, Elizabeth Warren “lied” about being Native American to “get ahead”.

The US president shared the tweet on Thursday amid nationwide demonstrations against institutionalised racism and police brutality in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death last week.

Republican activist and The MAGA doctrine author, Charlie Kirk, posted the tweet on Wednesday night.

He wrote: “If ‘White Privilege’ existed, why did Elizabeth Warren have to lie about being a Native American to get ahead in life?’

Twitter users were quick to condemn Mr Trump’s apparent endorsement of the post.

“This is a tweet that DonaldTrump just retweeted... I don’t know if he’s just not paying attention or our president believes white privilege doesn’t exist. I’m intrigued to see how this unfolds,” wrote one Twitter user.

The president has continued to taunt the Democratic senator and ex-2020 presidential candidate with the “Pocahontas” slur because she had maintained that she had some Native American ancestry.

Ms Warren issued an apology to Native Americans in August 2019 over the controversy of her claims.

The Massachusetts senator maintained throughout her academic and early political careers that she was partially Native American because her great-great-great-grandmother, OC Sarah Smith, was partially Native American.

She decided to publish DNA test results in October 2018 ahead of her Democratic presidential nomination bid, which ended in March this year.

The 2018 DNA results, which supported Ms Warren’s claim to having at least some Native American heritage around 10 generations ago, were condemned by Mr Trump and tribal leaders.

The Cherokee Nation said at the time she was “undermining tribal interests” with an “inappropriate” test to prove her DNA.The senator later apologised in August 2019 over the controversy, and accepted she had harmed Native Americans with her previous claims.