A Republican candidate for office ran into a buzzsaw on Saturday morning after CNN host Victor Blackwell held his feet to the fire and demanded he condemn President Donald Trump for repeatedly using the racist slur "Pocahontas' when talking about Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Appearing on CNN's New Day to promote his run for Warren's seat, Steve Rep. Geoff Diehl had a fairly sedate interview until host Blackwell shared a clip of Trump attacking Warren, calling her "Pocahontas."
"I read that you will not use that [Pocahontas] as the president has to describe Elizabeth Warren," Blackwell began. "As you know, the Native American population is very important in the state of Massachusetts. I'm sure the population is important to you. The National Congress of American Indians consider the president's use of Pocahontas in describing Elizabeth Warren as a slur. So will you call on the president, the man you support, right now to stop using Pocahontas as a racial slur against Elizabeth Warren"
"You know, I think Elizabeth Warren needs to stop pretending she has a heritage that she's unwilling to take a test for," Diehl deflected. "She took two minority hiring positions that she wasn't entitled to based on family lore which, again, she won't apologize for."
"I'm going to bring you back to the question,"" said the undeterred Blackwell. "Should the president continue to use Pocahontas as a racial slur? Will you call on the president to stop using Pocahontas as a racial epithet?"
"Look, I've said I'm not going to use that term during this campaign," Diehl began, before the CNN host cut him off.
"Are you comfortable with the president using it?" Blackwell pressed.
"Look, the president -- certainly he goes about the way he talks in politics differently, he tweets obviously different than I would," Diehl protested. " I think in this case, it's up to the president what he's going to do. For me, my race is all about making sure the people of Massachusetts know that Senator Warren has never been working for them since the day she was elected."
"So you're unwilling to commit for the president to stop using Pocahontas as a racial epithet against your opponent. -- last time and then I've got to go," Blackwell warned.
"It's not up to me to determine what the president does," Diehl weakly conceded.
Watch the video below via CNN:
