Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” host Jake Tapper asked HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher about his use of President Donald Trump’s nickname “Pocahontas” for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) because of her claim to be a descendant of Cherokee Indians.
Maher agreed while it was “technically” an ethnic slur, he said when Democrats get upset about things like that and not economic issues, they lose elections.
Partial transcript as follows:
TAPPER: You interviewed Senator Elizabeth Warren last week. I want to show our viewers a moment from that interview when you talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
MAHER: When you talk his fans are not with you…They don’t like you, Pocahontas.
(END VIDEO)
TAPPER: A tense little moment there. What did you make of her reaction, and — and did you do you think when the president calls her that it is an ethnic slur?
MAHER: Technically yes. Should we get that upset about it? Of course not. This is, again, one of the problems that Democrats have. Is that they obsess about things like Halloween costumes and the name of the Washington Redskins and there’s millions of people in this country who are saying how about a little bit more of I’m going to get your job back. That’s why they listened to a con man about that. But the point I was pressing Elizabeth Warren on there was about the fact that— there was a survey come out this week that showed Obama voters, the last two before in election who switched to Trump by 2-1.
They think that Democrats in Congress favor the wealthy more than Trump does. I wanted to know from her ‘Describe to me that disconnect.’ She said, ‘Well, they are angry.’ I said, ‘We agree. Everybody is angry out there, and we agree that there’s a lot of justification for that anger.’ My question is how come their solution to that anger is to go for the guy who is obviously turning everything back over to the 1 percent instead of you, Elizabeth Warren, who would actually help those people? Whose fault is that? It is part of the Democrats’ fault and it’s part people’s fault. They just don’t know enough or pay attention to know who is really going to be their champion. They have to own that had a little bit.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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