Just minutes into a carefully-staged rally of supporters on Friday, US President Donald Trump again referred to American media as the "enemy of the people" and repeated his use of an Indian racial slur against a US Senator.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 29, 2018
While drumming up fan fervor in West Virginia, the US leader called Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) "Pocahontas" in reference to a 17th century Native American who assisted early English settlers in the territory that would later become the state of Virginia.
Not the first time Trump has attempted to apply a denigrating nickname to a perceived opponent, the president's regular repetition of the name of an honored US historical figure as a means of belittling an opposition lawmaker has angered not only Native Americans.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the US indigenous people's rights organization, has strongly resisted the use of legacy Indian names by Trump.
"We honor the contributions of Pocahontas, a hero to her people, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe in Virginia, who reached across uncertain boundaries and brought people together," according to an NCAI statement.
"Once again, we call upon the president to refrain from using her [Pocahontas] name in a way that denigrates her legacy."
Trump made the trip to West Virginia to bolster the flagging senatorial campaign of Republican Patrick Morrisey, up against Democrat Joe Manchin in the fiercely-contended November US midterm elections.
