Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s assertion that she sent her children to public school even though her son attended a private school for a time is the latest in a series of blunders that raise questions about the 2020 Democrat’s honesty regarding her personal narrative, as early nominating contests approach.
At a campaign rally in Atlanta last week, pro-charter school protesters interrupted the Massachusetts Democrat’s speech, chanting, “Our voice, our choice.” The interruption lasted until Warren’s campaign co-chair, first-term Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, stepped in to quiet the crowd.
Warren, 70, spoke to one of the protesters, a woman identified as Sarah Carpenter, after the event. “We want the same choice that you had for your kids because I read that your children went to private school,” Carpenter said in a video posted to social media.
“No, my children went to public schools,” Warren responded.
Warren’s son, however, did attend a private school.
“Elizabeth’s daughter went to public school. Her son went to public school until 5th grade,” the Warren campaign told Fox News.
Alexander Warren attended Kirby Hall School in Austin, Texas, for at least the 1986-1987 school year, when he was in fifth grade, according to the school’s 1987 yearbook. The school’s current tuition is about $15,000 for grade school plus up to $1,870 for additional after school programs. In 1995, the earliest record available, tuition was $4,700, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
It is unclear where Warren’s son attended school beyond fifth grade. She was a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin from 1983 to 1987 and went on to teach at the University of Pennsylvania Law School from 1987 to 1995.
Warren’s daughter, Amelia Warren Tyagi, attended nine public schools between kindergarten and 12th grade due to frequent moving, according to a 2003 profile in Wharton alumni magazine. She is about five years older than Alexander.
The private-school snafu is not the first time questions have been raised about Warren’s honesty when relaying her personal narrative.
In October, the accuracy of a story Warren tells in her stump speech about being fired from her first teaching job at the age of 22 because she was “visibly pregnant” was called into question following the revelation of records that said Warren resigned from her post.
The Massachusetts senator stood by her story. “All I know is I was 22 years old, I was six months pregnant, and the job that I had been promised for the next year was going to someone else. The principal said they were going to hire someone else for my job,” she told CBS News.
Warren’s biggest controversy surrounding truth-stretching stems from her claims to Native American heritage and family lore that her parents eloped due to her mother being part “Cherokee and Delaware.” She listed herself as an “American Indian” on her Texas State Bar card and contributed recipes to a “Pow Wow Chow” cookbook. President Trump often calls Warren “Pocahontas” in reference to the claims.
In 2018, Warren took and made public a DNA test that found Warren had overwhelming European ancestry and one Native American ancestor six to 10 generations back. After enduring criticism, Warren repeatedly apologized for identifying herself as a minority.
Questions about Warren’s personal narrative could add to arguments from her primary competitors that she is dishonest about policy, though they do not question her biographical details themselves. Her rivals have openly questioned her honesty relating to her stances on policy issues such as how feasible it is to pay for programs like free college tuition and a single-payer “Medicare for all” healthcare system.
“We have an obligation as a party to be, yes, fiscally responsible, yes, think big, but make sure we have people’s backs and are honest with them about what we can pay for,” Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said during a Democratic debate last week.
“She’s going to have to tell the truth, or a question will be raised about whether she’s going to be candid and honest with the American people,” former Vice President Joe Biden said of Warren’s “Medicare for all” plan in October.
Following the protest, Warren’s campaign reaffirmed her opposition to federal funding for new charter schools.
“Elizabeth wants every kid to get a great education regardless of where they live, which is why her plan makes a historic investment in our public schools,” the campaign said. “Every public school should be a great school. Her plan does not affect funding for existing non-profit charter schools, but she believes we should not put public dollars behind a further expansion of charters until they are subject to the same accountability requirements as public schools.”
