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

Hillary Clinton now believes “deplorables” is “too kind” a word to use for a section of people who support former President Trump.

The former Democratic presidential candidate wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post Wednesday titled, “To err is human, to empathize is superhuman.” In the piece, she describes her struggle to empathize with “radicalized individuals,” hearkening back to her infamous “basket of deplorables” line from 2016.

Though Clinton initially apologized for her comment, now she believes it offered “an important truth” about Trump supporters.

“In 2016, I famously described half of Trump’s supporters as ‘the basket of deplorables.’ I was talking about the people who are drawn to his racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia — you name it. The people for whom his bigotry is a feature, not a bug. It was an unfortunate choice of words and bad politics, but it also got at an important truth. Just look at everything that has happened in the years since, from Charlottesville to Jan. 6,” Clinton wrote.

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Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton looked back at her “basket of deplorables” comment in a Washington Post article Wednesday. (Getty Images)

She added, “The masks have come off, and if anything, ‘deplorable’ is too kind a word for the hate and violent extremism we’ve seen from some Trump supporters.”

In comparison, Clinton recalled spending time with Shannon Foley, a former White supremacist who now “works to deprogram and rehabilitate people leaving hate groups.” Clinton commented how she “marveled at the empathy Shannon managed to summon for even the most (yes, let’s say it) deplorable bigots.”

“I wondered whether Shannon’s thoughtful, empathetic approach could offer lessons not just for rescuing radicalized individuals but also for healing our wounded country. What will it take to pull us out of the madness? Is there any way to drain the fever swamps so we can stand together on firmer, higher ground?” Clinton wrote.

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Though Clinton apologized for her comment, she maintained that then-candidate Donald Trump was promoting White supremacy in his campaign. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Despite still believing parts of her “deplorable” comment were “objectively true,” Clinton wrote how she hopes to have a more empathetic view.

“Talking about the ‘deplorables’ in 2016, I said, ‘Some of those folks, they are irredeemable.’ Part of me would still say this is objectively true. Just look at the lack of remorse from many of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists who’ve been convicted of sedition and other crimes. But another part of me wants to believe something else. I’d like to believe there’s goodness in everyone and a chance at redemption, no matter how remote,” she concluded.

In her original comments, Clinton said, “You know, 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. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.”

The next day, she repeated how her comment was “grossly generalistic,” though continued to attack then-candidate Donald Trump over alleged bigotry.

Clinton wrote that she’d “like to believe” there is goodness and a “chance at redemption” in radicalized individuals. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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“I regret saying ‘half’ – that was wrong. 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 said.