The campaign manager for former President Obama’s 2012 reelection bid on Monday questioned the timing of Sen. Elizabeth Warren‘s (D-Mass.) public release of DNA results that support her claims of Native American ancestry.
Jim Messina, who worked in the White House under Obama and then as his campaign manager in 2012, suggested on Twitter that Warren’s announcement was made too close to the midterm elections next month, when Democrats will have the chance to win back control of the House and Senate.
“Argue the substance all you want, but why 22 days before a crucial election where we MUST win house and senate to save America, why did @SenWarren have to do her announcement now?” he asked.
“Why can’t Dems ever stay focused???” he added.
{mosads}Warren on Monday gave the results of the DNA test to The Boston Globe. Stanford University professor Carlos Bustamante said the results “strongly support the existence of an unadmixed Native American ancestor.”
The public release of the DNA results were seen as a response to critics, including President Trump, who have claimed that Warren has fabricated her Native American ancestry claims. Trump has often used the derogatory name “Pocahontas” to refer to Warren, who is considered a potential Democratic challenger to Trump in 2020.