Clinton sorry for ‘deplorables’ quip
Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said yesterday she was wrong to put half of Donald Trump’s supporters in a ‘‘basket of deplorables,’’ but she didn’t back down from describing his campaign as largely built on prejudice and paranoia.
Clinton’s Republican rival accused her of a ‘‘grotesque attack on American voters’’.
Less than 24 hours after she made the comments at a private New York City fundraiser, Clinton said in a statement, ‘‘last night I was ‘grossly generalistic’ and that’s never a good idea. I regret saying ‘half’ – that was wrong.’’
But she argued that the word ‘‘deplorable’’ was reasonable to describe much of Trump’s campaign.
‘‘He has built his campaign largely on prejudice and paranoia and given a national platform to hateful views and voices, including by re-tweeting fringe bigots with a few dozen followers and spreading their message to 11 million people.’’
Responding in a statement, Trump said it was ‘‘disgraceful that Hillary Clinton makes the worst mistake of the political season and instead of owning up to this grotesque attack on American voters, she tries to turn it around with a pathetic rehash of the words and insults used in her failing campaign’’.
Trump added that Clinton was showing ‘‘bigotry and hatred for millions of Americans,’’ arguing that she was ‘‘incapable to serve as president of the United States.’’
Clinton, who has said she is the candidate to unify a divided country, made the ‘‘deplorables’’ comment at a fundraiser with about 1000 people in attendance. She has made similar comments recently, including on an Israeli television station.
‘‘To just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic – you name it,’’ she said, before stressing that other Trump supporters are frustrated and need sympathy.
Trump and his supporters pounced on the remark, arguing that it revealed Clinton as disconnected from struggling Americans.
‘‘Wow, Hillary Clinton was SO INSULTING to my supporters, millions of amazing, hard-working people. I think it will cost her at the polls!’’ Trump said in a tweet.
Running mate Mike Pence shot back: ‘‘The truth of the matter is that the men and women who support Donald Trump’s campaign are hard-working Americans, farmers, coal miners, teachers, veterans, members of our law enforcement community, members of every class of this country who know that we can make America great again.’’
Clinton’s rhetorical stumble came as the candidates head into the final two months of the campaign, with Trump trying to make up ground.