JD Vance Uses Hostage Release for Wildly Inappropriate Jab
The vice president took aim at a top Democrat whom Trump likes to call “Pocahontas.”

Pool/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance has posted a racially charged remark online to a Democrat senator on behalf of President Donald Trump.
The comment came following the ceasefire agreement in the Middle East, when Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote a passionate message on her X account on Monday.
“For two excruciating years, I have called for the return of the hostages brutally kidnapped on October 7th and held in Gaza,” Warren wrote. “Today is a good day. Surviving Israeli hostages are finally home and reuniting with loved ones. I’m thinking of them and their families on this joyful day and praying for their full recovery.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been trolled online by JD Vance.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Warren added she wanted peace for Israelis and Palestinians and noted, “We must end the war in Gaza, surge humanitarian aid, and negotiate a two-state solution now.”
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Vance then shared Warren’s post, with the caption, “The president told me he did this on Indigenous Peoples Day in honor of you.”
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The Daily Beast has contacted Warren’s office and the White House for comment.
Vance’s comment appears to relate to some controversy surrounding Warren’s heritage.
When Warren taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard law schools in the 1980s and 1990s she told administrators she had partial Native American heritage. The Boston Globe reported in 2012 that she was listed as a Native American faculty member in a national law school directory.
Donald Trump has labeled Warren “Pocahontas” from as far back as 2016. The nickname has been viewed as a racial slur by critics.
The president told me he did this on Indigenous Peoples Day in honor of you. https://t.co/KsTPzHQ2yz
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 13, 2025
In July 2018, Trump said he would donate $1 million if Warren took a DNA test to prove her heritage.
In October 2018, Warren released the results of a DNA test, claiming she had Native American ancestry dating back six to 10 generations.
Trump claimed the results were “bogus” on Twitter at the time. The Cherokee Nation also released a statement saying using a DNA to lay claim to any tribal nation is “inappropriate and wrong.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance takes questions from reporters during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Oct. 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Three months later, Warren apologized to the Cherokee Nation, who said in a statement at the time, “We are encouraged by this dialogue and understanding that being a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen is rooted in centuries of culture and laws not through DNA tests. We are encouraged by her action and hope that the slurs and mockery of tribal citizens and Indian history and heritage will now come to an end.”
Vance’s post highlighting Indigenous People’s Day is also notable; the day is designed to honor native American cultures amid concerns over Christopher Columbus’ treatment of Indigenous peoples.
Columbus Day was declared a federal holiday in 1937, but it wasn’t until 2021 that Joe Biden formally commemorated the holiday with a presidential proclamation.
Trump signed a declaration last week reinstating Columbus Day, claiming he was “giant of Western civilization” while accusing “left-wing radicals” of attempting to erase him from history.
MAGA were already incensed with Warren’s original post about the ceasefire before Vance weighed in.
Right-wing commentator Megyn Kelly said “You’re so gross. Trump did it. Just say it,” on her X account.
Utah Senator Mike Lee posted, “Perhaps the words you’re looking for are ‘thank you, President Trump’,” on his X account.
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