Sen. Warren’s challengers weigh Trump’s use of ‘Pocahontas’

BOSTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s habit of referring to Sen. Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” is posing a challenge to candidates hoping to unseat the Massachusetts Democrat.

Most say they won’t use the term. But three of the four aren’t shying away from the Republican president’s criticism of Warren’s claim of Native American heritage.

Warren has called Trump’s use of the name a “racial slur.” She says she never relied on her heritage to gain any advantage.

Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl calls Warren guilty of “phony political outrage to build her national profile to run for president.”

Republican business executive John Kingston says that Trump’s decision to use the name during a recent event honoring Navajo veterans was inappropriate, but that his criticism is fair.

Technology entrepreneur Shiva Ayyadurai is running as an independent. He says Warren has “shoplifted the racial identity of Native Americans for her own personal gain.”