DNA becomes Liz’s undoing
Even an apology now is too late
Elizabeth Warren’s presidential dreams are imploding and it may be too late to undo the damage.
The Massachusetts senator flunked her DNA test and now is reportedly considering an apology to Native Americans. But it won’t work.
Warren doesn’t need to say she’s sorry for taking the test — she needs to fully come clean about why she listed herself as a minority all those years in law school.
A simple “I shouldn’t have done it” will do it. But even in the unlikely event of apologizing for pretending to be a Native American, Warren won’t shake off the stench of this mistake.
The Cherokee tribe, which blasted Warren when the test came out, won’t forget. Even the liberal New York Times is now panning Warren for taking the test, which concluded that at most she is 1/64th Native American. CNN is calling it a “debacle.”
How do you think other racial minority groups are going to react when Warren comes around looking for their support for a 2020 bid? Especially with Sens.
Cory Booker and Kamala Harris in the race.
And donors may even shy away from giving Warren money if they think she’ll be a loser. Polls show that Warren has slipped to the second tier of contenders, behind former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and failed Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke. She’s no longer the shining star of the Democratic liberal wing. She’s tainted.
Warren’s DNA test now occupies a central role in her campaign, whether she likes it or not.
According to the Times, Warren has even expressed concern that she’s done lasting damage to her image, especially among Native Americans. It’s long been assumed she is running for president — based on all the steps she’s taken to prepare for the campaign — but that path now looks less certain.
She could pull a Deval Patrick and bow out, citing the blowback her family could get in the heat of a campaign.
But in reality, the only way Warren won’t run is if she concludes she can’t win. And that starts with the DNA fiasco.
If Warren decides she will never get rid of the Native American issue, even with a strong apology, it’s likely she will find a way to shelve her White House aspirations. She wouldn’t be the first would-be candidate to pull out early because of a damaging personal issue.