basket of deplorables

Throughout her presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton expressed her concerns regarding Donald Trump and his supporters. The New York Times and CNN cited Clinton's earlier articulation of similar ideas to the phrase in her August 25, 2016, campaign speech at a rally in Reno, Nevada.{{cite news |last1=Chozick |first1=Amy |title=Hillary Clinton Calls Many Trump Backers 'Deplorables', and G.O.P. Pounces |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/us/politics/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables.html |access-date=February 10, 2017 |work=The New York Times |date=September 10, 2016 |quote=Her remarks on Friday were a more pointed version of her earlier criticisms of the movement her opponent has spurred. |archive-date=February 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223014037/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/us/politics/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables.html |url-access=subscription }}{{cite news |last1=Merica |first1=Dan |last2=Tatum |first2=Sophie |title=Clinton expresses regret for saying 'half' of Trump supporters are 'deplorables' |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/09/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-basket-of-deplorables/ |access-date=February 10, 2017 |work=CNN |date=September 9, 2016 |quote=Although Clinton has accused Trump of racism before, she has never explicitly called him a racist. Last month, she delivered a major speech in which she accused Trump of aligning himself with far-right extremists and saying he 'built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia'. |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216154622/http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/09/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-basket-of-deplorables/ |url-status=live }} In that speech, Clinton had criticized Trump's campaign for using "racist lies" and allowing the alt-right to gain prominence, claiming that Trump was "taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party". Clinton also criticized Trump for choosing Steve Bannon as his chief executive officer, especially given Bannon's role as the executive chair of the far-right news website Breitbart News. Clinton read various headlines from the site, including "Would You Rather Your Child Had Feminism or Cancer?" and "Hoist It High and Proud: The Confederate Flag Proclaims a Glorious Heritage".{{cite news |last1=Fix |first1=Team |last2=Ohlheiser |first2=Abby |last3=Dewey |first3=Caitlin |title=Hillary Clinton's alt-right speech, annotated |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/25/hillary-clintons-alt-right-speech-annotated/ |access-date=January 23, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 25, 2016 |archive-date=January 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125140318/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/25/hillary-clintons-alt-right-speech-annotated/ |url-access=subscription }} On that same day, Clinton posted a video on Twitter depicting white supremacists supporting Donald Trump. Within the video is a CNN interview wherein Trump initially declined to disavow white nationalist David Duke.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/us/politics/hillary-clinton-speech.html |title=Hillary Clinton Says 'Radical Fringe' Is Taking Over G.O.P. Under Donald Trump |work=The New York Times |first=Matt |last=Flegenheimer |date=August 25, 2016 |access-date=March 1, 2017 |archive-date=February 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228102810/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/us/politics/hillary-clinton-speech.html |url-access=subscription }}

During campaign fundraisers in August 2016, Clinton reportedly explained her divide and conquer approach to courting Republican voters by putting Trump supporters into two "baskets": everyday Republicans whom she would target for votes, and the alt-right crowd.{{cite web |last=Debenedetti |first=Gabriel |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-september-debate-227714 |title=Trump cuts into Clinton's lead as crucial stretch begins |date=September 4, 2016 |work=Politico |access-date=January 23, 2017 |archive-date=January 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129183352/http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-september-debate-227714 |url-status=live }} During a September 8, 2016, interview on Israel's Channel 2, Clinton said: "You can take Trump supporters and put them in two big baskets. They are what I would call the deplorables — you know, the racists and the haters, and the people who are drawn because they think somehow he's going to restore an America that no longer exists".{{cite web |last=Kelsey |first=Adam |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clintons-basket-deplorables-line/story?id=42069200 |title=Behind Hillary Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables' Line |date=September 13, 2016 |work=ABC News |access-date=January 23, 2017 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202022624/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clintons-basket-deplorables-line/story?id=42069200 |url-status=live }}

At an LGBT campaign fundraising event in New York City on September 9, Clinton gave a speech and said the following:{{cite magazine |last1=Reilly |first1=Katie |title=Read Hillary Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables' Remarks on Trump Supporters |url=https://time.com/4486502/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables-transcript/ |access-date=January 23, 2017 |magazine=Time |date=January 22, 2017 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110172258/https://time.com/4486502/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables-transcript/ |url-status=live }}

{{quote|I know there are only 60 days left to make our case – and don't get complacent; don't see the latest outrageous, offensive, inappropriate comment and think, "Well, he's done this time". We are living in a volatile political environment.

You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. (Laughter/applause) Right? (Laughter/applause) They're racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic{{snd}}you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people{{snd}}now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks{{snd}}they are irredeemable, but thankfully, they are not America.

But the "other" basket{{snd}}the other basket{{snd}}and I know because I look at this crowd I see friends from all over America here: I see friends from Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and Texas and{{snd}}as well as, you know, New York and California{{snd}}but that "other" basket of people are people who feel the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures; and they're just desperate for change. It doesn't really even matter where it comes from. They don't buy everything he says, but – he seems to hold out some hope that their lives will be different. They won't wake up and see their jobs disappear, lose a kid to heroin, feel like they're in a dead-end. Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.|sign=Hillary Clinton|source=CBS News{{cite news |title=Hillary Clinton says half of Trump's supporters are in a 'basket of deplorables' |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCHJVE9trSM |access-date=December 4, 2017 |work=CBS News |via=YouTube |date=September 10, 2016 |archive-date=February 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218215534/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCHJVE9trSM |url-status=live }}}}

The following day Clinton expressed regret for "saying half", while insisting that Trump had deplorably amplified "hateful views and voices".{{cite magazine |title=Hillary Clinton Says She Regrets Part of Her 'Deplorables' Comment |url=https://time.com/4486601/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-basket-of-deplorables-half/ |magazine=Time |first=Katie |last=Reilly |date=September 10, 2016 |access-date=January 23, 2017 |archive-date=October 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014034420/http://time.com/4486601/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-basket-of-deplorables-half/ |url-status=live }} At the second presidential debate in October 2016, after Trump mentioned the speech in a response to James Carter, debate moderator Anderson Cooper asked Clinton: "How can you unite a country if you've written off tens of millions of Americans?"{{cite news |last1=Blake |first1=Aaron |title=Everything that was said at the second Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton debate, highlighted |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/10/09/everything-that-was-said-at-the-second-donald-trump-vs-hillary-clinton-debate-highlighted/ |access-date=January 23, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 9, 2016 |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127062622/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/10/09/everything-that-was-said-at-the-second-donald-trump-vs-hillary-clinton-debate-highlighted/ |url-access=subscription }} Clinton responded to Cooper's question by saying: "My argument is not with his supporters, it's with him and the hateful, divisive campaign he has run".{{cite web |last=Strauss |first=Daniel |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/2016-presidential-debate-hillary-clinton-deplorables-229494 |title=Clinton regrets 'deplorables' comment, bashes Trump for 'hateful, divisive campaign' |date=October 9, 2016 |work=Politico |access-date=January 23, 2017 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202011218/http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/2016-presidential-debate-hillary-clinton-deplorables-229494 |url-status=live }}

On October 20, 2016, during the 71st Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, Clinton joked about the phrase, telling the guests: "I just want to put you all in a basket of adorables".{{cite news |last1=Hains |first1=Tim |title=Hillary Clinton Mocks Trump at Alfred Smith Dinner: He Sees Statue Of Liberty As a '4' |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/10/20/hillary_clinton_mocks_trump_at_alfred_smith_dinner_he_sees_the_statue_of_liberty_as_a_4.html |access-date=February 1, 2017 |work=RealClearPolitics |date=October 20, 2016 |archive-date=November 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110103957/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/10/20/hillary_clinton_mocks_trump_at_alfred_smith_dinner_he_sees_the_statue_of_liberty_as_a_4.html |url-status=live }}

Clinton's campaign pointed to a series of polls that showed that some of Trump's supporters held negative views toward Latinos, African Americans, and Muslims. Clinton's campaign used the incident to try to force Trump's campaign members to denounce its extreme supporters. For example, after Mike Pence refused to call David Duke "deplorable", Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine accused Pence of enabling racism and xenophobia.{{cite news |last1=Collinson |first1=Stephen |title=Why 'deplorables' spat is here to stay |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/13/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-deplorables/ |access-date=February 1, 2017 |work=CNN |date=September 13, 2016 |archive-date=October 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021083658/http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/13/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-deplorables |url-status=live }}

Donald Trump criticized Clinton's remark as insulting to his supporters.{{cite news |title=Hillary Clinton Calls Many Trump Backers 'Deplorables', and GOP Pounces |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/us/politics/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables.html |work=The New York Times |first=Amy |last=Chozick |date=September 10, 2016 |quote=Prof. Jennifer Mercieca, an expert in American political discourse at Texas A&M University, said in an email that the 'deplorable' comment 'sounds bad on the face of it' and compared it to Romney's 47 percent gaffe. 'The comment demonstrates that she (like Romney) lacks empathy for that group', Professor Mercieca said. |access-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-date=February 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223014037/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/us/politics/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables.html |url-access=subscription }}{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-09-10/clinton-calls-trumps-supporters-basket-of-deplorables |title=Clinton Calls Some Trump Supporters 'Basket of Deplorables' |work=Bloomberg News |first=Jennifer |last=Epstein |date=September 10, 2016 |quote=Republican pollster Frank Luntz described Clinton's comments as her '47 percent moment', a reference to Republican Mitt Romney's remarks at a private fundraiser in the 2012 campaign. |access-date=March 5, 2017 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112153602/http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-09-10/clinton-calls-trumps-supporters-basket-of-deplorables |url-access=subscription }} In a rally at Des Moines, Trump stated: "While my opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable, I call you hardworking American patriots who love your country".{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=David |title=Trump seeks to profit from Clinton's 'deplorables' remark |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/09/15/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables/90352670/ |access-date=February 1, 2017 |work=USA TODAY |date=September 15, 2016 |language=en |archive-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218101648/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/09/15/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables/90352670/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Rascoe |first1=Ayesha |last2=Oliphant |first2=James |title=Obama paints Trump as no friend of the working class |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/obama-paints-trump-as-no-friend-of-the-working-class-idUSKCN11J1T1/ |access-date=October 28, 2024 |work=Reuters |date=September 13, 2016 |archive-date=October 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241028210338/https://www.reuters.com/article/world/obama-paints-trump-as-no-friend-of-the-working-class-idUSKCN11J1T1/ }} During the rest of the election, Trump invited "deplorable Americans" on stage.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/295554-supporters-join-trump-on-stage-we-are-not-deplorable/ |title=Supporters join Trump on stage: We are not deplorable |work=The Hill |first=Lisa |last=Hagen |date=September 10, 2016|access-date=October 20, 2024}} For example, at a rally in Miami, Florida, on September 16, 2016, Trump parodied musical Les Misérables with the title Les Déplorables under the song "Do You Hear the People Sing?".{{cite news |last1=Darcy |first1=Oliver |title=Trump walks onstage to theme of 'Les Miserables', greets 'deplorables' at his Miami rally |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-les-miserables-deplorables-miami-2016-9 |access-date=September 16, 2016 |work=Business Insider |date=September 16, 2016 |archive-date=September 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917041321/http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-les-miserables-deplorables-miami-2016-9 |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |last1=Robinson |first1=Will |title=Donald Trump Enters Stage to 'Les Mis' Theme, Welcomes 'Deplorables' |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/16/donald-trump-les-mis-deplorables |access-date=September 16, 2016 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=September 16, 2016 |archive-date=September 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918144721/http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/16/donald-trump-les-mis-deplorables |url-status=live }} Trump also used the label against Clinton in an advertisement, which claimed that Clinton herself is deplorable because she "viciously demoniz[es] hard working people like you".{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/clinton-deplorables-trump-ad-228018 |title=Trump releases new ad hitting Clinton for 'deplorables' remark |work=Politico |first1=Hanna |last1=Trudo |first2=Steven |last2=Shepard |date=September 12, 2016 |access-date=January 23, 2017 |archive-date=October 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013064652/http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/clinton-deplorables-trump-ad-228018 |url-status=live }} On November 8, 2017, one year after the election, Trump thanked the "deplorables" for his victory.{{cite news |last1=Estepa |first1=Jessica |title=President Trump thanks 'deplorables' for helping him win the 2016 election |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/11/08/president-trump-thanks-deplorables-helping-him-win-2016-election/844744001/ |access-date=November 8, 2017 |work=USA TODAY |date=November 8, 2017 |language=en |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108213641/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/11/08/president-trump-thanks-deplorables-helping-him-win-2016-election/844744001/ |url-status=live }}

File:Mike Pence on Deplorables Comment.webm

Others in Trump's campaign responded negatively to the statement. Trump's running mate Mike Pence stated in a Capitol Hill meeting: "For Hillary Clinton to express such disdain for millions of Americans is one more reason that disqualifies her to serve in the highest office".{{cite news |last1=Hains |first1=Tim |title=Pence: For Clinton To 'Express Disdain' For Everyday Americans 'Disqualifies Her' |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/09/13/pence_for_clinton_to_express_disdain_for_everyday_americans_disqualifies_her.html |access-date=February 1, 2017 |work=RealClearPolitics |date=September 13, 2016 |archive-date=May 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510051246/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/09/13/pence_for_clinton_to_express_disdain_for_everyday_americans_disqualifies_her.html |url-status=live }} Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, had issued a statement on Twitter, claiming: "One day after promising to be aspirational & uplifting, Hillary insults millions of Americans".{{cite news |title=The Latest: Trump campaign objects to 'deplorable' language |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/052109a4de02459798529c5172f1374a/latest-campaign-frenzy-begins-early-voting-starts |access-date=January 23, 2017 |agency=Associated Press |date=September 10, 2016 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202023943/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/052109a4de02459798529c5172f1374a/latest-campaign-frenzy-begins-early-voting-starts |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last1=Corn |first1=David |title=The Time Trump's Campaign Manager Called Americans 'a Bunch of Pigs' |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/kellyanne-conway-trump-deplorables-bunch-of-pigs |access-date=January 23, 2017 |work=Mother Jones |date=September 15, 2016 |language=en |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202021632/http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/kellyanne-conway-trump-deplorables-bunch-of-pigs |url-status=live }}

Meanwhile, Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr. posted a parody movie poster of The Expendables on Twitter and Instagram titled "The Deplorables", which included Pepe the Frog's face among those of members of the Trump family and other right-wing figures.{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-son-adviser-share-image-featuring-white-nationalists-favorite-cartoon-frog-170540004.html |title=Trump's son, adviser share image featuring The new rights favorite cartoon frog |date=September 12, 2016 |publisher=Yahoo News |last=Dickson |first=Caitlin |access-date=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403135942/https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-son-adviser-share-image-featuring-white-nationalists-favorite-cartoon-frog-170540004.html |url-status=live }}

In the final months of the election, the Trump campaign released official merchandise with the word "deplorable".{{cite news |last1=Daileda |first1=Colin |title=Trump selling 'deplorable' t-shirts on campaign website |url=https://mashable.com/article/donald-trump-deplorable-t-shirts |access-date=January 23, 2017 |work=Mashable |date=September 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920142802/https://mashable.com/article/donald-trump-deplorable-t-shirts/ |archive-date=20 September 2020 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Weaver |first1=Courtney |title=Year in a Word: Deplorables |url=https://www.ft.com/content/af01ff78-c394-11e6-9bca-2b93a6856354 |access-date=January 23, 2017 |work=Financial Times |date=December 27, 2016 |archive-date=February 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218213752/https://www.ft.com/content/af01ff78-c394-11e6-9bca-2b93a6856354 |url-access=subscription }}

{{clear}}

File: Proud to Be Deplorable hat (38655702640).jpg in 2018, wearing a hat with the phrase "Proud to be deplorable"]]

During and after the election, the "deplorables" nickname was reappropriated by many Trump supporters.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/09/12/deplorable-and-proud-some-trump-supporters-embrace-label/90290760/ |title='Deplorable' and proud: Some Trump supporters embrace the label |work=USA Today |first=William |last=Cummings |date=September 12, 2016 |access-date=May 14, 2024 |archive-date=November 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117180910/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/09/12/deplorable-and-proud-some-trump-supporters-embrace-label/90290760/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Beckett |first1=Lois |title=A morning with 'adorable deplorables': why Trump supporters are optimistic |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/20/donald-trump-supporters-inauguration-interview |access-date=January 23, 2017 |work=The Guardian |date=January 20, 2017 |archive-date=January 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123065518/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/20/donald-trump-supporters-inauguration-interview |url-status=live }} Weeks before Trump's inauguration, various celebrations were held using the word "deplorable". One notable celebration was DeploraBall, which was celebrated by Trump supporters and several members of the right at the National Press Building from January 19 to 20, 2017.{{cite news |last1=Andrews |first1=Natalie |title=Before the Inauguration Day Galas, a 'Deploraball' |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/before-the-inauguration-day-galas-a-deploraball-1484848514 |access-date=January 19, 2017 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 19, 2017 |archive-date=January 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119193821/http://www.wsj.com/articles/before-the-inauguration-day-galas-a-deploraball-1484848514 |url-access=subscription }}{{cite news |last1=Pager |first1=Tyler |title='DeploraBall' highlights worries over 'alt-right' participation in Trump presidency |newspaper=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/01/18/deploraball-triggers-debate-over-alt-right-participation-inaugural-festivities/cvYYaUbw6PfPYJfRYzW3CN/story.html |access-date=January 19, 2017 |date=January 19, 2017 |archive-date=January 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119050003/http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/01/18/deploraball-triggers-debate-over-alt-right-participation-inaugural-festivities/cvYYaUbw6PfPYJfRYzW3CN/story.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Booker |first1=Brakkton |title=Alt-Right Infighting Simmers Around Inaugural 'DeploraBall' |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/01/01/507395282/alt-right-infighting-simmers-around-inaugural-deploraball |access-date=January 17, 2017 |work=NPR |date=January 1, 2017 |archive-date=January 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117093045/http://www.npr.org/2017/01/01/507395282/alt-right-infighting-simmers-around-inaugural-deploraball |url-status=live }}

The day after Clinton's speech, some political analysts compared the statement to Mitt Romney's "47% gaffe" in 2012.{{cite web |title=Hillary Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables', In Full Context of This Ugly Campaign |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/09/10/493427601/hillary-clintons-basket-of-deplorables-in-full-context-of-this-ugly-campaign |work=NPR |first=Domenico |last=Montanaro |date=September 10, 2016 |quote=The remarks also remind of inflammatory remarks in recent presidential elections on both sides – from Barack Obama's assertion in 2008 that people in small towns are "bitter" and "cling to guns or religion", to Mitt Romney's 2012 statement that 47 percent of Americans vote for Democrats because they are "dependent upon government" and believe they are "victims", to his vice presidential pick Paul Ryan's comment that the country is divided between "makers and takers" ... Clinton's remarks, like Obama's in 2008, smacked of liberal elitism — liberals talking to liberals about a group of people they don't really know or hang out with, but feel free to opine about when talking to each other. |access-date=April 5, 2018 |archive-date=April 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411172901/https://www.npr.org/2016/09/10/493427601/hillary-clintons-basket-of-deplorables-in-full-context-of-this-ugly-campaign |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/26/voters-strongly-reject-hillary-clintons-basket-of-deplorables-approach/ |title=Voters strongly reject Hillary Clinton's 'basket of deplorables' approach |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Aaron |last=Blake |date=September 26, 2016 |quote=On the other hand, it's not clear whether this comment, even if people don't like it, will have anywhere near the effect that Romney's "47 percent" comment was supposed to have. That's especially because Clinton has backed away from saying it applied to half of Trump supporters and, as I noted two weeks ago, the fact that Romney's comment might have alienated people who actually might have voted for him. Clinton's comment was about people already backing her opponent – a key difference. |access-date=January 23, 2017 |archive-date=October 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022065429/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/26/voters-strongly-reject-hillary-clintons-basket-of-deplorables-approach/ |url-access=subscription }} Politico{{'}}s Rich Lowry describes conservatives' interpretation of Clinton's use of the term as "an unfair, disparaging term for people who believe reasonable but politically incorrect things (immigration should be restricted, NFL players should stand during the national anthem, All Lives Matter, etc.)".{{cite news |last1=Lowry |first1=Rich |title=The Garbage Case for Roy Moore |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/06/lowry-roy-moore-garbage-216051 |access-date=December 7, 2017 |work=Politico |date=December 6, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207031152/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/06/lowry-roy-moore-garbage-216051 |url-status=live }}

After the election, Diane Hessan, who had been hired by the Clinton campaign to track undecided voters, wrote in The Boston Globe that "all hell broke loose" after the "basket of deplorables" comment, which prompted what she saw as the largest shift of undecided voters towards Trump.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/11/21/understanding-undecided-voters/9EjNHVkt99b4re2VAB8ziI/story.html |title=Understanding the undecided voters |newspaper=The Boston Globe |first=Diane |last=Hessan |date=November 21, 2016 |access-date=May 12, 2017 |archive-date=February 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218214505/https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/11/21/understanding-undecided-voters/9EjNHVkt99b4re2VAB8ziI/story.html |url-status=live }} Political scientist Charles Murray said, in a post-election interview with Sam Harris, that because the comment helped get Donald Trump elected, it had "changed the history of the world, and he [Haidt] may very well be right. That one comment by itself may have swung enough votes, it certainly was emblematic of the disdain with which the New Upper Class looks at mainstream Americans".{{cite web |author-link=Charles Murray (political scientist) |last=Murray |first=Charles |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/04/25/charles_murray_hillary_clintons_deplorables_comment_may_have_changed_the_course_of_world_history.html |title=Charles Murray: Hillary Clinton's 'Deplorables' Comment May Have Changed The Course Of World History |work=RealClearPolitics |date=April 25, 2017 |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112033330/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/04/25/charles_murray_hillary_clintons_deplorables_comment_may_have_changed_the_course_of_world_history.html |url-status=live }}

In an interview with CNN on December 4, 2016, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook said that the statement "definitely could have alienated" her voters.{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Eugene |title=Mook: Clinton's 'deplorable' comment could have alienated voters |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/04/politics/clinton-deplorables-apology/ |access-date=January 23, 2017 |work=CNN |date=December 4, 2016 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202024136/http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/04/politics/clinton-deplorables-apology/ |url-status=live }} Meanwhile, Courtney Weaver of Financial Times believed that Clinton's comment had no effect on the election, stating: "To argue that one word cost Mrs Clinton the election is foolish". However, Weaver acknowledged that the statement "did not hurt her opponent". James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal wrote that Clinton only stated that she regretted saying half without indicating whether she underestimated or overestimated.{{cite news |last1=Taranto |first1=James |title=Doubling Down on 'Deplorable' |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/doubling-down-on-deplorable-1481303167 |access-date=January 23, 2017 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=December 9, 2016 |archive-date=January 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122204820/http://www.wsj.com/articles/doubling-down-on-deplorable-1481303167 |url-access=subscription }}

Spectator columnist Charles Moore compared the impact of the statement to that of British left-winger Nye Bevan's comments disparaging British Conservative Party members as "lower than vermin" in 1948. Moore noted that these remarks sparked a similar outrage and led to the formation of the "Vermin Club".{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Charles |title=Will Trump produce merchandise for his 'basket of deplorables'? |url=http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/11/will-trump-produce-merchandise-basket-deplorables/ |magazine=The Spectator |access-date=March 13, 2017 |date=November 17, 2016 |archive-date=March 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314063100/http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/11/will-trump-produce-merchandise-basket-deplorables/ |url-status=dead }}

Some Trump opponents turned the phrase against the Trump administration. For example Time writer Darlena Cunha opined that several members nominated for Trump's cabinet were a "basket of deplorables" spreading racism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism.{{cite magazine |last1=Cunha |first1=Darlena |title=Donald Trump's Administration Is a Basket of Deplorables |url=https://time.com/4577724/donald-trump-deplorable-administration/ |access-date=January 23, 2017 |magazine=Time |date=November 22, 2016 |archive-date=January 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122161555/http://time.com/4577724/donald-trump-deplorable-administration/ |url-status=live }}

In her 2017 book What Happened, Clinton said that her comments generalizing half of Trump's supporters as a "basket of deplorables" were a factor in her electoral loss, calling it a "political gift" for Trump.

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