President Trump predicted that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would run against him in 2020 even if the senator was “in a wheelchair,” according to a report from The New York Times on Saturday.
Trump reportedly made the remarks over the summer during a visit from four Democratic lawmakers, whom he questioned about possible 2020 Democratic contenders.
“Who is going to run against me in 2020?” he asked, according to one attendee. “Crooked Hillary? Pocahontas?”
The president often uses those names to refer to Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
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When he predicted that Sanders would make a second presidential bid against him, Trump reportedly mimed being an old man in a wheelchair.
Trump has repeatedly used the racially charged nickname “Pocahontas” to refer to Warren, who claims Native American heritage. The president has frequently accused Warren of lying about her heritage for political gain, a charge she denies.
Last month, the president was sharply criticized by Warren and others when he used the nickname during an event honoring Navajo Code Talkers at the White House.
“You were here long before any of us were here,” Trump said at the event, surrounded by Native American veterans. “Although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas.”
Warren responded to the comment on MSNBC.
“It is deeply unfortunate that the president of the United States cannot even make it through a ceremony honoring these heroes without having to throw out a racial slur,” she said.