Clinton Doubles Down on ‘Deplorables’ Comment, Says ‘Too Kind a Word’
Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election, doubled down on this week when she called half of former President Donald Trump's supporters “a bunch of deplorables.”
Clinton recalled the infamous and divisive remarks she made during a 2016 fundraiser: washington post Editorial published Wednesday, adapted from her new book What We Lost, What We Gained: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Freedom. In the article, the former secretary of state recalled a meeting with a former white supremacist who is currently working on deprogramming people who leave hate groups, as an entry point to discuss his “deplorable” comments, He said the words were “too kind words.” For President Trump's most ardent supporters.
“In 2016, I famously described half of Trump's supporters as a 'basket of deplorables.' He was talking about people who are attracted to people who think his bigotry is a feature, not a bug.
“This was an unfortunate choice of words and bad politics, but it also touched on an important truth: Look at everything that has happened from Charlottesville to January 6th and in the years since. The mask has fallen. If anything, “deplorable” is too kind a word for the hatred and violent extremism we've seen from some of President Trump. Supporters,” she continued.
Clinton also addressed some of her 2016 comments in which she said some Trump supporters were “irredeemable” and “not part of America,” adding, “Part of me still feels this is… I believe it is objectively true.” She added:It's easy to empathize with people you agree with. Empathizing with someone you deeply and passionately disagree with is difficult, but necessary. ”Christian, I desire this kind of radical empathy, but often I don't have it. ”
“When we talked about “deplorables'' in 2016, I said, “Some of these people are beyond redemption.'' Part of me was thinking, “I still think that's objectively true. Look at the lack of remorse by many of the January 6th insurrectionists who were convicted of sedition and other crimes,” she wrote. “But another part of me wants to believe otherwise. I want to believe that everyone has good intentions and a chance for redemption, no matter how far away.”
Clinton previously issued a statement expressing regret for her 2016 comments and calling them “very general,” but refused to actually apologize.
The entire quote now looks like this:
In very general terms, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the “basket of deplorables.” right? Racists, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes, Islamophobes, and more. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he lifted them up. He gave voice to his website, where previously he only had 11,000 people, but now he has 11 million people. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, and mean-spirited rhetoric.
Now, some of those people are beyond redemption, but thankfully they're not America.
But Clinton has since called for the “official deprogramming” of MAGA's “cult members,” and she echoed similar sentiments. washington post The column discusses her “deplorable” comments alongside a meeting with former white supremacists who are currently “working to deprogram and reintegrate people who have left hate groups.”
“We need a formal deprogramming of cult members,” Hillary Clinton told CNN in 2023. “So many extremists, MAGA extremists, are taking their marching orders from Donald Trump, who is apparently untrustworthy.”
The comment drew fierce backlash from Republicans and conservatives, some of whom accused Clinton of wanting to put Trump supporters into “concentration camps” and “re-education camps.”
Clinton Doubles Down on ‘Deplorables’ Comment, Says ‘Too Kind a Word’
Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election, doubled down on this week when she called half of former President Donald Trump's supporters “a bunch of deplorables.”
Clinton recalled the infamous and divisive remarks she made during a 2016 fundraiser: washington post Editorial published Wednesday, adapted from her new book What We Lost, What We Gained: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Freedom. In the article, the former secretary of state recalled a meeting with a former white supremacist who is currently working on deprogramming people who leave hate groups, as an entry point to discuss his “deplorable” comments, He said the words were “too kind words.” For President Trump's most ardent supporters.
“In 2016, I famously described half of Trump's supporters as a 'basket of deplorables.' He was talking about people who are attracted to people who think his bigotry is a feature, not a bug.
“This was an unfortunate choice of words and bad politics, but it also touched on an important truth: Look at everything that has happened from Charlottesville to January 6th and in the years since. The mask has fallen. If anything, “deplorable” is too kind a word for the hatred and violent extremism we've seen from some of President Trump. Supporters,” she continued.
Clinton also addressed some of her 2016 comments in which she said some Trump supporters were “irredeemable” and “not part of America,” adding, “Part of me still feels this is… I believe it is objectively true.” She added:It's easy to empathize with people you agree with. Empathizing with someone you deeply and passionately disagree with is difficult, but necessary. ”Christian, I desire this kind of radical empathy, but often I don't have it. ”
“When we talked about “deplorables'' in 2016, I said, “Some of these people are beyond redemption.'' Part of me was thinking, “I still think that's objectively true. Look at the lack of remorse by many of the January 6th insurrectionists who were convicted of sedition and other crimes,” she wrote. “But another part of me wants to believe otherwise. I want to believe that everyone has good intentions and a chance for redemption, no matter how far away.”
Clinton previously issued a statement expressing regret for her 2016 comments and calling them “very general,” but refused to actually apologize.
The entire quote now looks like this:
But Clinton has since called for the “official deprogramming” of MAGA's “cult members,” and she echoed similar sentiments. washington post The column discusses her “deplorable” comments alongside a meeting with former white supremacists who are currently “working to deprogram and reintegrate people who have left hate groups.”
“We need a formal deprogramming of cult members,” Hillary Clinton told CNN in 2023. “So many extremists, MAGA extremists, are taking their marching orders from Donald Trump, who is apparently untrustworthy.”
The comment drew fierce backlash from Republicans and conservatives, some of whom accused Clinton of wanting to put Trump supporters into “concentration camps” and “re-education camps.”
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