Hillary Clinton defends ‘deplorables’ comment: ‘Too kind a word’ for some Trump supporters

Hillary Clinton now thinks “deplorables” is “too kind” a term to use when describing some of the supporters of former President Trump.

The former Democratic presidential candidate The Washington Post Her essay, published on Wednesday, is titled “To Err is Human, to Empathize is Superhuman,” and in it she describes the struggle of empathizing with “radicalized individuals,” echoing her infamous “college of deplorables” remarks from 2016.

Clinton initially apologized for her comments but now believes they implied an “important truth” about Trump supporters.

“In 2016 I famously described half of Trump's supporters as 'deplorables' – I was referring to those who were attracted to his racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and everything else – for whom his bigotry is a feature, not a flaw. It was an unfortunate choice of words and bad politics, but it also made an important truth. Just look at everything that happened in the years between Charlottesville and January 6th,” Clinton wrote.

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She added that “the mask has come off and 'deplorable' is too kind a word for the hatred and violent extremism we have seen from some Trump supporters.”

By comparison, Clinton recalled spending time with Shannon Foley, a former white supremacist who now “works to deprogram and rehabilitate people who have left hate groups.” She commented that she was “amazed by how Shannon was able to summon empathy for even the most (yes, I'll say it) deplorable bigots.”

“I thought Shannon's thoughtful, empathetic approach might offer lessons not only for helping radicalized individuals but also for healing our wounded nation. What will it take to pull us away from the madness? Is there a way we can clear away the morass of fanaticism so we can emerge stronger and on higher ground?” Clinton wrote.

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Clinton apologized for her comments but went on to claim that then-candidate Donald Trump promoted white supremacy on the campaign trail. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Clinton wrote that while she still believes some of his “deplorable” comments are “objectively true,” she wants to take a more empathetic view.

“When I spoke of 'deplorables' in 2016, I said, 'some of them are beyond redemption'. Part of me would say that this is objectively true – see the lack of remorse among many of the January 6th rioters who were convicted of sedition and other charges – but another part of me wants to believe otherwise – to believe that there is goodness in all people and a chance for redemption, no matter how far that may be,” she concluded.

“Very generally speaking, half of Trump's supporters fall into what I call the deplorables, right? Racists, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes, Islamophobes, you name it. Unfortunately, those people exist. And Trump has elevated them,” Clinton said in her initial comments.

The next day, she reiterated that her comments had been “very generalized,” but continued to attack then-presidential candidate Donald Trump for alleged bias.

Clinton wrote that she “want to believe” there is goodness in radicalized individuals and that there is “a chance for redemption.” (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

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“I regret saying 'half' – it was wrong – but let me be clear: what is truly deplorable is that Donald Trump hired a key supporter of the so-called 'alt-right' movement to work on his campaign, and that David Duke and other white supremacists see him as a defender of their values,” Clinton said.