Before elite donors at a glitzy fundraiser on Friday, Hillary Clinton managed to insult millions of Americans by arguing that half of Donald Trump’s supporters are deplorable individuals animated by racist, sexist, homophobic and other warped ways of thinking. Though she’s backed away from applying that characterization so broadly, she deserves the backlash she’s getting over the remarks.
“You know, just to be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables,” Clinton said to laughter and cheers.
Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” statement only contributes to the divided-nation dynamic that’s been so worrisome this election cycle. While we have argued that Trump himself is acting in racist, sexist and deplorable ways, we’ve been fully aware that overwhelming numbers of Republicans have loudly called foul for his stances that suggest he has some serious soul-searching to do.
We condemned Mitt Romney in 2012 for making his 47 percent comments to well-heeled donors. Romney said that nearly half the nation was comprised of freeloaders who “pay no income tax” and who are in the tank for Democrats because of the party’s identification with government assistance.
And we remember that in 2008, the last time Clinton ran for president, she happily joined criticism of then-candidate Barack Obama for telling donors that struggling Americans “cling to guns or religion or antipathy towards people who aren’t like them.”
Clinton is right to attack the hate groups that have benefited from Trump’s rise. And she was right Friday to tell Democrats the party needs to empathize with Trump supporters who feel that the government and the economy have let them down.
But her comments are the same kind of elitist statements coming from too many quarters that are poisoning the conversation and the debate.
The country needs leadership here, not cocktail party derision.
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