First Presidential Debate 2020: Trump branded 'racist' as he calls Elizabeth Warren 'Pocahontas', insults Biden
Sparks flew as the 2020 United States presidential debate between President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden kicked off. Sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the first debate between the presidential candidates was held on September 29 in Cleveland moderated by Chris Wallace.
A storm was stirred when Covid-19 was mentioned. As per ABC, Biden began by listing statistics including 200,000 Americans dead and over 7M infected. "The president has no plan. He hasn't laid out anything. He knew all the way back in February how serious this crisis was. He knew it was a deadly disease," he said. "And I laid out again in July what we should be doing."
During the debate, when Biden mentioned how he beat Bernie Sanders, Trump told Biden: "If Pocahontas would've left two days early you would have lost every primary on Super Tuesday." Soon, a string of tweets followed on how he was hurling insults and dubbing Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas”."Trump is hurling insults about Bernie Sanders’s 'manifesto' and 'Pocahontas' with non-stop interruptions. He is like a small child with his hands over his ears and yelling at the top of his lungs," one tweet read and another said, "Did Trump just refer to Elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas during a presidential debate? #Debates2020."
Soon, he was dubbed racist for that comment. "Calling someone 'Pocahontas' is racist, no matter the context," one tweet read. Another said, "Did this man just say Pocahontas on national television, during a debate?! And y’all are saying he’s not racist? #DebateNight."
"If Pocahontas would've left two days early you would have lost every primary on Super Tuesday." pic.twitter.com/PSeXbSC8px
— Luke Ball (@LukeTBall) September 30, 2020
Trump is hurling insults about Bernie Sanders’s “manifesto” and “Pocahontas” with non-stop interruptions. He is like a small child with his hands over his ears and yelling at the top of his lungs.
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) September 30, 2020
Did Trump just refer to Elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas during a presidential debate? #Debates2020
— CJ Johnson (@cjjohnsonjr) September 30, 2020
Calling someone 'Pocahontas' is racist, no matter the context
— Washington Post TikTok Guy 🎃 (@davejorgenson) September 30, 2020
Did this man just say Pocahontas on national television, during a debate?!
— Kamala’s Bayang (@CoreyPTownsend) September 30, 2020
And y’all are saying he’s not racist? #DebateNight
This is not the first time Trump used that word. As per an ABC report, The 'Pocahontas' nickname originated with President Trump, who viewed Warren as a potential 2020 contender after accusations were hurled at her that she falsely claimed Native American heritage since her 2012 Senate race. “Her mother says she has high cheekbones,” Trump mockingly told a rally in Great Falls, Montana. “That's her only evidence.” He also said, “Let's say I'm debating Pocahontas, right? I promise you I'll do this. I will take – you know those little kits they sell on television for $2. Learn your heritage,” adding, “And we will say, I will give you a million dollars to your favorite charity, paid for by Trump, if you take the test so that it shows you're an Indian.”
The two presidential candidates spoke on the following topics: 'The Trump and Biden Records', 'The Supreme Court', 'Covid-19', 'The Economy', 'Race and Violence in our Cities' and 'The Integrity of the Election'. Each segment lasted about 15 minutes after the moderator opened with a question.
Set for 9 pm ET, the 90-minute debate was televised on channels including CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, C-SPAN, NBC and MSNBC without any commercial breaks.