Clinton: It was wrong to call half of Trump supporters 'deplorable'

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill

September 10, 2016, 02:25 pm

Hillary Clinton on Saturday said she regretted denigrating “half” of Donald Trump’s supporters but stood by her characterization that much of his campaign is “deplorable.”

“Last night I was ‘grossly generalistic,’ and that's never a good idea. I regret saying ‘half’ — that was wrong,” Clinton said in a statement. “But let's be clear, what's really ‘deplorable’ is that Donald Trump hired a major advocate for the so-called ‘alt-right’ movement to run his campaign and that David Duke and other white supremacists see him as a champion of their values.”

Clinton was referring to Trump's campaign CEO Steve Bannon, formerly the chairman of Breitbart News.

Clinton went on to slam Trump’s “deplorable” habit of elevating the message of “fringe bigots” that follow him. “It's deplorable that he's attacked a federal judge for his ‘Mexican heritage,’ bullied a Gold Star family because of their Muslim faith, and promoted the lie that our first black president is not a true American,” she continued. “So I won't stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign.”

-snip-

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/295293-clinton-it-was-wrong-to-call-half-of-trump-supporters

[Matthew28]

1. And she is 100% right.

[phallon]

47. She sure is 100% correct.

HRC got it right the first time.

[GB_RN]

64. They are NOT the "Alt-Right".

Let me just start by saying that I've lurked here at DU since around 2000-01. I've never felt the need to post until now (and I can't create a thread on this...grrr).

Calling these people the "Alt-Right" confers a legitimacy that they don't, and should not (ever) have. The late, great Bartcop had it correct when he called them the Reichwing. Although he used the term a bit more loosely and applied it to the entire Republican Party (but when the shoe fits...), it most definitely and quite appropriately applies to this group of #tRump supporters.

Yes, this is truly the #ReichWing of the Republican Party; full of know-nothing Flying Monkeys and lockstep, goose-stepping fascists pigs and neo-Nazis. Let's not give them an undeserved and inappropriate, politically correct group name. Let's call a spade a spade and label them for what they are...

If my terminology offends, I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry for telling the truth. I took my lessons in laying out the facts and truth from Bartcop: Sometimes, being nice and kind just isn't appropriate.

[get the red out]

78. No she was wrong

About 99% of them are deplorable, not 50%.

[AngryAmish]

2. Damn right it was wrong to call half deplorable.

More like 98%

[awoke_in_2003]

28. +1. nt

[William Seger]

34. 98% of the people who attend Trump's rallies, anyway (nt)

[Funtatlaguy]

3. Way too generous

99.999999999

[JI7]

4. sime people think calling it out is worse than the actual bigotry

[Proud liberal 80]

43. And that is why Hillary

Shouldn't have backtracked. She should have remained firm. By going back and saying she shouldn't have said half makes them not look like bigots. And it gives ammunition to the press and the other side.

[Matthew28]

5. Hillary is right

Trump can insult everyone from muslims to the disabled, but when the other side finally states the obvious = They turn into little tiny whiny bitches! It is like they will melt when the light is shined on their racist, sexist and classiest asses.

I think this will help her as it will turn the spot light onto the ugliness of trump and his base instead of her dumb emails.

[politicaljunkie41910]

6. So is this the beginning of "Deplorable-gate"?

[FigTree]

7. Each one of her moves is carefully weighed.

Which is not necessarily a good thing. In that case, the purpose seems to have been to demonstrate that she can apologize. When the pig never has and never will.

[MyNameIsKhan]

9. Very much so with focus groups

I tend to believe all this was a planned event over the weekend ...

[goldent]

65. I don't think her original statement was carefully weighed.

That statement was the kind of thing you say in private events - true but not suitable for the general public to hear.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. That's just great.

Just what we need - another apology tour in the making.

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!

[LenaBaby61]

53. WTF is RIGHT ...

Just when there was a tiny bit of traction made in the press IE: Them FINALLY going after the lying, ignorant, tRump surrogates--now THIS.

tRump was saying that Hillary thinks ALL of his supporters were racist even before this retraction, so we know that he's going to REALLY light a match to this apology of Hillary's. Yes, she apologized, but you know darned WELL the press isn't going to let her have any sort of pass about this like they're always giving tRump on almost EVERYTHING he says that's wrong/mean-spirited/bordering on or IS racist, ignorant, his being a birther, his misogyny and that's just some of the things he says that are insane/incoherent that he's never really been called ON throughout the campaign and even before.

I Wouldn't be surprised if Chris Wallace or one of the moderators asks Hillary about this again during one of the debates. Of course, it's 50-50 at BEST if we see any of the moderators ask tRump if he was sorry about anything he ever said, or about why he made fun of that disabled reporter, or about why he hired Neo-Nazi Steve Bannon to be CEO of his campaign.

Oh Hillary

[goldent]

66. She had no choice but to apologize - she just needs to move on.

[asiliveandbreathe]

10. The pundits are talking about Hillary - and not drumpf

for a moment -

Regret saying "half" - okay - but in her original comment - she said, “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it.”

“And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up,” she added.


If the shoe fit's,wear it! - It is very possible it is half - so let's say 40% -

[TygrBright]

11. This is like the judge instructing the jury to "disregard" a witness's answer...

...all it does is fix it more indelibly in their minds.

I LOVE the way she's riding this.

admiringly,
Bright

[TheBlackAdder]

12. Shit! Trump wins again! She should have stood firm, since she surely underestimated that number.

.


You will never hear Trump or any other GOPer apologize.
Making an apology is what signals weakness in their minds.


By waffling on her statement, it gives Trump a little oneupsmanship on the issue.

She should have identified 5 categories of supporters who are distasteful and said to show why they aren't.

Put the ball back in Trump's corner to defend those reprobates.


.

[Proud liberal 80]

44. Agree

Spot on!

[anamandujano]

56. It means he has to ignore it or talk about it which is good for the airwaves.

[GummyBearz]

70. Don't worry so much

She is right when she is right and she is right when she is wrong. It wont matter

[targetpractice]

13. WHY?!? It was perfect. n/t

[andym]

14. She needs to grab some attention

that is not about email servers. This statement is one way to do it. It would be good if she conjure up some of Bill's "I feel your pain" too-- she would be so far of Trump he would be thinking of quitting.

[stopbush]

15. Actually, a smart "regret" by Hillary.

She took the opportunity to bang on the word "deplorable" over and over again while not retracting her statement. At worst, all she said was that maybe 50% was a little broad. It's more like - oh, I don't know - 45%.

[Iliyah]

20. She regrets the "half" word

LOL

[William Seger]

36. The "other half" are mostly people who just hate the Clintons

... and Hillary was never going to make any inroads with either of those groups, anyway.

[ColemanMaskell]

73. The other half also contains elites who want tax favors for the rich

Trump's supporters include many subsets:
- the deplorables;
- the duped who dislike Clinton because they've fallen for -- dare I say decades -- of disinformation churned out endlessly by Republican opponents;
- some dupes among uneducated older white male workers who legitimately feel that they have lost ground in the economy, and fall for the mistaken idea that Trump will help their situation;
- some general malcontents of the sort who flipped from supporting Bernie to supporting Trump because they want change and they have not burdened their minds with overmuch reading or thinking on the details;
- and some rich elites who want above all to improve their own situation regardless of the cost to society at large -- to reduce their taxes and regulations even further, repeal the inheritance tax, dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, and facilitate appointment of Supreme Court Justices who will in general favor plutocratic interpretations of the law. These rich elites, devoid of conscience or empathy, are the true driving force ; They manipulate the deplorables, dupes, and malcontents, turning a ragtag collection of desparate people into an angry and determined mob.

. . . So I'd be more worried about that plutocratic lot. It's an itty-bitty percentage of the total, but it does the driving.

[ColemanMaskell]

72. Agree, Hillary is being smart about keeping focus on the deplorables

Yup, seems like Hillary is playing this right. She takes focus off of emails and such nonsense and turns the spotlight on Trump's appeal to the deplorable groups like the KKK that rally to his call. The question becomes not whether the sentiments are deplorable, but rather what the percentage is. In the discussion of the exact percentage, the fact of the deplorable appeal gains de facto acknowledgement. She's doing it right, imho.

[Paladin]

16. Bad move on her part. Being gracious and regretful gets her absolutely nowhere.

The Trump forces and the national media will look upon Hillary's retreat as a sign of weakness and miscalculation. Think I'm wrong? Watch "Meet The Press" tomorrow morning.

[jonno99]

52. ^^ this^^ nt

[roamer65]

17. Anyone who votes for Drumpf is a degenerate.

The figure is 100% of anyone who votes for that piece of shit.

[mvd]

68. That is what I was thinking

Just voting for Trump in itself is deplorable. Many of them just go above and beyond with racism, xenophobia, etc.

[denbot]

18. No no no, goddamn it, double down.

Too many half measures, too many compromises. Go after both him and the neo-nazi's that follow him.

[MFM008]

19. Taking the news cycle

Away from the maggot.

[bucolic_frolic]

21. Staying on message is a good idea

Her advisors and pollsters need to continuously formulate an agenda and
strategy. We seem to have plateaued here ... it is September, it will improve
by October.

[TomCADem]

22. Watch the Double Standard At Work - Trump Never Apologizes, Gets a Free Pass

Has he apologized for his comments about Judge Curial?

[Democat]

23. Democrats never learn that showing weakness to Republicans is a mistake

Her statement was a poorly worded, but strength against bullies is the only way forward.

[relayerbob]

24. Just 47%

[Kathy M]

25. As long as Hillary continues to

" I won't stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign.”

from link in original post ( the above statement )

Don and his crew are the one who owe this country and the World an apology

Edit to add , Just went over to FR could only look at a few replies to a post about this subject and left ........ they are having a field day .

Have good evening

[Snellius]

26. Maybe we need a bigger basket.

Trump has never said a word that was not racist, sexist, traitorous, hateful, arrogant or ignorant. For anyone who buys into it, "deplorable" is too kind.

[elmac]

27. These Trump supporters are ill people

They suffer from an irreversible condition called a Fox news lobotomy. Even Obamacare can't help them.

[Rocknrule]

40. My dad is one of them

He assumes that any news source that's not Fox, Brietbart, Drudge, or ObamaEatsBabies.com is a "crazy left-wing site". He would vote for Hannibal Lecter as long as he had an R behind his name. He gets his news from websites that claim that Sandy Hook was a hoax. I thought it was bad back when he was a huge Bush fan (and conveniently forgets about all that now), but now I think it's safe to say he's legitimately brainwashed.

[elmac]

62. 95% of my family has the lobotomy

Makes for a very short Christmas list.

[backscatter712]

29. A very smooth nopology...

I'm liking Hillary more and more!

[33taw]

30. I think it is time to demand he apologize.

Yesterday he said 'Clinton could kill someone and not be charged'.

In this case - truth is a defense, she should have said 99%.

[Snellius]

31. If she "shot" someone!

“She could walk into this arena right now and shoot somebody with 20,000 people watching, right smack in the middle of the heart, and she wouldn’t be prosecuted. O.K.? That’s what’s happening.”

So get out your guns, deplorables!

[democrattotheend]

32. Her only mistake was using the word "half"

She should not have put a percentage on it. Other than that I agree 100% with what she said.

Hopefully it won't hurt her much because anyone in the Basket of Deplorables was already for Trump, by definition.

Meanwhile, I made this to help claim the #BasketOfDeplorables meme:

[Democat]

33. She should have said "the worst of" instead of "half of"

That would have been a much better statement.

[renate]

37. I agree 100%

I hope someone from her campaign sees this suggestion and uses it the next time she's questioned about her statement. If she'd said "the worst of" to start with, no explanation would have been needed in the first place.

[Cosmocat]

38. IMO the best possible frame would have to say she omitted "give or take"

as in 50% give or take, then rattle of her list and say she will leave it to everyone else to dicker over the exact percentage.

[LeftishBrit]

35. All this reminds me of an (unfortunately probably apocryphal) story about Benjamin Disraeli

It is said that he exclaimed in the House of Commons, 'Half of the Members of Parliament are asses!' The Speaker reprimanded him and asked him to withdraw this statement. 'I withdraw my statement', he replied. 'Half of the Members of Parliament are not asses!'

[Snellius]

41. Disraeli had another that still seems to apply ...

“A systematic liar and a beggarly cheat; a swindler and a poltroon … He has committed every crime that does not require courage.” A "poltroon"?

[NotHardly]

39. I'm with Hilary ... speaking truth to deplorable persons is courage ...

not speaking out would, in fact, be deplorable

[anamandujano]

57. "not speaking out would, in fact, be deplorable"

Exactly! She should talk about this every single day.

[humbled_opinion]

42. Sorry but nothing about this

entire deplorable fiasco says "we are stronger together" I won't support it and I will speak out against it, you can't win by adopting rightwing principles, this is going to turn out badly.

[RBInMaine]

46. Baloney. Enough of the jelly spine. SMASH TRUMP TILL HIS EYEBALLS BLEED!!!

[anamandujano]

58. +1

[TheCowsCameHome]

63. So why backpedal?

Stupid, stu pid, stupid.

[mainstreetonce]

45. She can be asked what she meant at the debate

and she can have a list ready of all the deplorable things Trump said that were cheered by his audience.

[Tarc]

48. The only thing wrong is hat she limited the characterization to just half

People didn't join the KKK just because they were interested in preserving southern culture; they were racists, to the last man.

The situation is the same for Trump supporters; if you're in his camp, then you're in it whole hog.

[hay rick]

49. She should apologize for telling a half-truth. They are all deplorable.

They are unworthy of respect.

[KamaAina]

50. Dagnabbit! The first thing she's ever said that made me genuinely excited about her

as opposed to supporting her because she isn't orange , and she has to go and walk it back!

[tonyt53]

51. SHE is taking the news cycle instead of Trump. SHE is also correct with her original statement.

[Kathy M]

59. +1

[nolabels]

54. This is news?

No matter who you are, and whether or not you engage with the process known as toilet paper, it don't matter.

We are all deplorable, it's simply how it works

[Little Tich]

55. I don't know of any Trump supporters who don't belong in the “basket of deplorables”. n/t

[eppur_se_muova]

60. It's like chewing gum -- you have to have enough for everybody.

"They're all deplorable." There -- isn't that more even-handed ?

[olddad56]

61. she should apologize to her supporters for having a Trump like moment.

In doing so, if it got enough media attention, it would help people see that he says something stupid like that every day.

[TexasBushwhacker]

74. Yeah, I wonder if this was a "can't unring a bell" situation

She said it, it gets a ton of coverage but also shines a light on Trump saying offensive things all the time. And now she apologizes.

[Rocknrule]

67. She should've said she was being sarcastic

and watch the Trump supporters' hypocritical heads explode

[MADem]

69. She was completely WRONG, I tell you, WRONG to call them a BASKET of DEPLORABLES.

She should have called them what they are:

A BARREL of BULLSHIT.

[WhiteTara]

71. She was being polite...she meant

all of them!

[Megahurtz]

75. No she is not wrong

and she should not apologize.

[The Wielding Truth]

76. Rec...a mil if I could! Anyone who supports Trump is a racist or ignoring that he is which makes

them deplorable!

[no_hypocrisy]

77. I'm not convinced the term "deplorable" was the word that set them off.

I think they heard "basket" and interpreted it that HRC was calling them "basket cases". Deplorable is a seventh grade vocabulary word that would have gone over their heads.